ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: last Monday in the morning

New2grammar — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:29:28 GMT

Thanks Avangi and CJ. CJ, you're a terrific teacher! (Just in case, I chose the wrong word, terrific is not related to terrible, I hope)

Re: last Monday in the morning

CalifJim — Sun, 18 May 2008 23:27:52 GMT

once = one time; on one occasion

You can't use the other, but you can use the other time.

one time for X days and the other time for Y days =

once for X days and the other time for Y days.

You can use once ... once ... or once ... the other time. A similar choice is possible when a time is not involved. Either of these is possible.

There were two objects blocking the road. One was large, and one was small.

There were two objects blocking the road. One was large, and the other was small.

New2grammar
On second thought, why didn't you say "the other" in place of the second once?

Short answer: It's not as funny that way.

Re: last Monday in the morning

Avangi — Sun, 18 May 2008 14:55:38 GMT

You could say "one time for three days, the other time for four days." OR "It only rained on two occasions, one was when it rained for three days, the other was when it rained for four days."

(I was going to explain it, but I decided I'd only make a mess of it. Let's just say "the other" doesn't go with "once.") - A.

Re: last Monday in the morning

New2grammar — Sun, 18 May 2008 08:34:51 GMT

On second thought, why didn't you say "the other" in place of the second once?

Re: last Monday in the morning

CalifJim — Sun, 18 May 2008 07:23:34 GMT

Last week the weather was good. It only rained twice. Once for three days and once for four days.

Re: last Monday in the morning

Avangi — Sat, 17 May 2008 23:25:02 GMT

That was my point. They would need to be developed separately and then connected, or something like that. Unfortunately, this is a game we have to play, since we deal with isolated single sentences most of the time. We applaud the "most common" and reject the others.

- A.

Re: last Monday in the morning

Huevos — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:15:09 GMT

Vincent Teo
Last Monday in the morning, it was raining continuously for three days.

"Last monday morning" and "it was raining continuously for three days" are two non-related timelines. What's the connection between the two?

Re: last Monday in the morning

khoff — Sat, 17 May 2008 19:30:06 GMT

"Last Monday, in the morning," is possible, but "Last Monday morning" would be more natural in most situations.

Re: last Monday in the morning

New2grammar — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:12:50 GMT

Thanks, Avangi and MJ.

Re: last Monday in the morning

Mighty Joseph — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:53:36 GMT

Yeah, it bet it's right to say that, most especially if you mean that the action happened at a certain time of the day, which, in this case, is "in the morning" and not in the afternoon or in the evening. I hope this has shed some light.

Re: last Monday in the morning

Avangi — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:45:50 GMT

I'd say it's acceptable, with an optional comma, especially if you wish to emphasize the time of day.

Re: last Monday in the morning

New2grammar — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:35:45 GMT

Is it acceptable to say "Last Monday in the morning"?Shouldn't it be Last Monday morning?

Re: last Monday in the morning

Avangi — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:20:06 GMT

Last Monday in the morning, it had been raining continuously for three days.

This seems an unlikely sentence. The contrasting scale puts you off balance. If it's been raining for three days, it doesn't much matter if it's morning or afternoon. If you were going to use this in a paragraph, you'd probably begin with the large scale, and then shift to the small scale in another sentence.

last Monday in the morning

Vincent Teo — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:07:46 GMT

Can I say,

Last Monday in the morning, it was raining continuously for three days.