A Question
Why do we say “at 6:30 pm,” but “on October 15?” Why is it “at noon,” but “on Monday?”
Is there some logical reason? Is there some significant difference between dates and times? Is it just weird? Is it just me?
6 Comments
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Comment by Angus • Fri 15 Oct 04, 8:54 pm #
Hmm. Perhaps it’s because we perceive dates as places rather than times, which are restricted to more “short-range” terms like “at”?
Either that, or it’s just another example of the need for English 2.0 :).
Comment by Nato • Sun 17 Oct 04, 10:48 pm #
You can also have “meet me at 3:20, on the dot.” Weird.
On can also be used as a place: Meet me on the island
Comment by Estie • Thu 21 Oct 04, 10:24 am #
Study linguistics. Different prepositions have evolved differently like this for a reason. Just like plants and animals adapt to and change according to their envivonment, so languages also change and end up with seeming contradictions. I don’t study linguistics, but this seems a good explanation.
Comment by Nato • Thu 21 Oct 04, 11:41 pm #
I don’t get the comparison between plants and language. Is there a contradiction between plants sometimes?
Comment by Estie • Wed 27 Oct 04, 12:30 pm #
When comparing two items (such as plants and language), you don’t have to compare every aspect. Leave room for contrasts. The “…and end up with seeming contradictions” was an afterthought, unrelated to the plant bit.
Comment by Matt P • Thu 28 Oct 04, 9:01 am #
I think “on” refers to a period of time (a finitely continuous field), whereas “at” refers to a point in time (a discrete point in the field).
So “on Monday” refers to sometime during the length of Monday, whereas “at 6:30pm” refers to a specific time during Monday.
It can also be transferred to references in space, for example, “on the island” means generally anywhere on the whole island, “at the clifftop” specifies the exact point.
That’s my nerdy maths perspective :)