In/over

Share on Facebook

New2grammar

#544540 Mon, 21 Jul 08 03:51 PM

In/Over the next few days, our atheletes will arrive in Beijing.

Are both correct? If yes, I would like to see the suble differences. Please help me analyze them.
Thanks.

New2grammar

Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006

Veteran Member (7,676)

Who wants to go sailing around the world with me?

Clive

#544544 Mon, 21 Jul 08 04:03 PM

Hi,

In/Over the next few days, our athletes will arrive in Beijing.

Are both correct? If yes, I would like to see the suble differences. Please help me analyze them.

Here are a couple of comments on the general focus.

over - There will be more than one arrival, and these arrivals will be fairly evenly spread thoughout the next few days.

in - This does not focus on the above idea so strongly. There might even just be one arrival, which will occur at some point in the next few days.

Best wishes. Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (22,474)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

optilang

#544545 Mon, 21 Jul 08 04:05 PM

New2grammar
In/Over the next few days, our atheletes will arrive in Beijing.

Are both correct? If yes, I would like to see the suble differences. Please help me analyze them.
Thanks.

Both are correct.

My interpretation:

In the next few days - the athletes will start to arrive after a couple of days from today.

Over the next few days: they will start to arrive, possibly from tomorrow and it will take a few days for them all to arrive.

optilang

Joined on Tue, May 13 2008

Poland

Senior Member (2,233)

OptiNative British English Speaker Wherever I may roam, I'm still a Londoner.

Grammar

New2grammar

#544548 Mon, 21 Jul 08 04:18 PM

Thank you, Clive and Optilang. It's always great to receive different opinions. I wonder what a third native speaker would interpret. The differences are more apparent that I'd thought

New2grammar