Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ddh33]

Which of these are correct?

1. I haven't seen you in/for a while.

2. I won't be here in/for a week. (What I mean is that I won't be here the next 7 days. I suspect that both are correct grammatically but differ in meanings.)

3. Birds fly down south in/for the summer.

4. I didn't go out in/for the past few days.
_________________
Duheng Deng -- I'm from China. Although I've been in the States for 2 years, I still have problems with English from time to time. Let's help each other out.

[lotus]

Hi ddh33,

"For" would be correct for all four sentences. If you use "in", you can change the time-frame to sometimes "later".

1) I haven't seen you for a while.
1a) I will see you in a while.

2) I won't be here for a week.
2a) I will be here in a week.

3) Birds fly south for the Summer.
3a) The birds will fly south in the Summer.

4) I did'nt go out the past few days. (don't need the for)
4a) I will go out in the next few days.


--lotus

[ddh33]

Thanks, but I'm still in doubt. I see the basic difference.

My understanding is that "I'll be here in a week" means I will be here a week from today, and implies that I will be elsewhere in the next 7 days. What if I want to say "I will be here in the next 7 days"? Should I say "I will be(stay) here FOR a week"?

I often hear people say "haven't seen you in a while." Is that acceptable in informal English?

Similarly, which of these are correct?

1. I went camping for/over/on the weekend.

2. I will go camping for/over/on the weekend.

Thanks a bunch.
_________________
Duheng Deng -- I'm from China. Although I've been in the States for 2 years, I still have problems with English from time to time. Let's help each other out.

[lotus]

My understanding is that "I'll be here in a week" means I will be here a week from today, and implies that I will be elsewhere in the next 7 days. What if I want to say "I will be here in the next 7 days"? Should I say "I will be(stay) here FOR a week"?

You can say "I'll be here for the next 7 days." or "I'll be staying here for a week."

I often hear people say "haven't seen you in a while." Is that acceptable in informal English?

Yes, it's very common. The "I" is understood.

Similarly, which of these are correct?

1. I went camping for/over/on the weekend.

All are correct. "Over" is the most common.

2. I will go camping for/over/on the weekend.

All are correct. "For" is the most common.


--lotus