Last week... vs. a week ago

Bluepearl · Post by **Bluepearl** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 3:53 pm

Is there a difference between last week, month, year... and a week, month, year ago...? If there is, what is the difference?
Also, can you say "a day ago", "a night ago"?

Thank you

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:45 pm

Well, for a start, it would be wierd to use e.g. 'about' (to approximate) before 'last week/month/year': '?about last week' (not sure about with 'around'. These contrast with e.g. that movie's title, About Last Night, where 'about' has a different meaning/function, at least as most people would understand it). Which leads me into my next brainfart: 'ago' can come after '(n) day(s)', but 'night(s)' are much less easy to define - how long is a night exactly? From what time to what time? etc. Generally, the expressions with 'last' sound more definite to my mind - they take you right back to a specific time, rather than to a hazy period that one would circle hazily around until more exact or interesting details came to occupy or divert one's attention.

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 1:40 am

The basic thing is that the "ago" phrase refers to a length of time, not a section.

If it is now November 5th, and I say "I went to Paris last month" I may have gone on October 28th, for example. But if I went about a month ago, I must have gone about October 5th.

One day ago/night ago would not normally be used since we have common words like yesterday which mean the same thing.

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:19 am

Thanks, Woody, that's a better answer than I gave (I do go rather off at tangents sometimes...but the potential modification or not of the phrases is as I say something to bear in mind). I understand your 'length' versus 'section' (~ of time) as meaning 'last x' includes "any" day in the block of days up to the end of the last x, whilst '...ago' falls/comes down to a point in time roughly that long (that length of time) ago - by analogy with a piano keyboard, highlighting/depressing all the notes in a scale but an octave down, as opposed to jumping from a present single note to a corresponding single note lower down. (Not that the "point" is much more precise, logically or discoursally - same meat, different gravy).