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Scott H Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

A debate about time span

Hello. My fiancee and I have been debating this issue for quite some time, and I would really like to get some clarification on who is correct, because she feels like it's a matter of opinion, while I'm in the camp that believes it is a structure to language that cannot have an opinion.

The time spans in question are "ago","since", and perhaps "for". I'll use the subject of pizza as the topic because it's been an actual topic of our debate, as well as my favorite food, for a long time. We'll also assume that today is Monday.
  • "We had pizza three days ago."
- We both agree that this statement means "The last time we had pizza was Friday."
  • "It has been three days since we last ate pizza."
- This, for some reason, we disagree on. I think this is the same as the above statement: "The last time we had pizza was Friday." She feels like this means there were 3 days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) in between today and the last time we had pizza, so for her, this means "The last time we had pizza was Thursday."
  • "We haven't had pizza for three days."
- I'm not entirely clear on this one, but I would most likely use this in the same manner as above, indicating the last time we ate pizza was on Friday.

Who is wrong here? Are either of us wrong, or is this really something that's subject to an opinion? I'm having a lot of trouble thinking that any of the three have a different meaning.

Thanks. Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

Are you saying this at 7am on Monday, or at 11:55 pm on Monday?

— Clive

  • Are you saying this at 7am on Monday, or at 11:55 pm on Monday?
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10 Answers
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Are you saying this at 7am on Monday, or at 11:55 pm on Monday?Emotion: thinking
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CliveAre you saying this at 7am on Monday, or at 11:55 pm on Monday?
That brings up another question: Does it matter?
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Emotion: tongue tied All three mean the same to me. I don't see it as particularly controversial.

X days ago ~ for X days ~ ... X days s
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CalifJimAll three mean the same to me. I don't see it as particularly controversial.
I'm sitting here quietly in complete agreement with you.
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Scott HI'd really like for her to see it that way too.
Right. And I'd like to be twenty years younger, too.
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CalifJimRight. And I'd like to be twenty years younger, too. Time to move on, I'd say.
I'm afraid I'm entirely too stubborn to do so.
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Scott Hstubborn
Not my problem anymore now! I just do grammar. Emotion: smile

CJ
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Possible ammunition.

By the way, does she add a year to birthdays the same way?

Suppose I have a birthday today. Let's say I've just turned 36. Does she say it's been 37 years since I was born?

CJ
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CalifJimPossible ammunition.By the way, does she add a year to birthdays the same way?Suppose I have a birthday today. Let's say I've just turned 36. Does she say it's been 37 years since I was born?CJ
No, it's only with days. She either says the day it happened doesn't count as a full day, or the current day doesn't. It changes. At any rate, it appears she ag
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These expressions all mean the same to me, too. But I find them a little unclear. eg Is the speaker counting today as day one? If it were important, I'd say eg Do you mean Friday?

Clive
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