earlier in the evening

Question

Hi teachers ,Could you possibly tell me the meaning of "earlier in the evening" in the following sentence.Frankly speaking , "earlier + in the evening/in the day " seems too difficult to me:Her eyes went to the hold-all at her feet which Chavez had picked up at a house in San Salvador earlier in the evening.  Does "earlier in the evening" mean "in the evening before" ?Thank you in advance

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Aha! This one is a little difficult. Absent earlier context setting the present time, "earlier in the evening" does two things. It establishes that the present time is this evening. And it establishes that Chavez picked the thing up at some time earlier this evening.

Well, I guess that's a dumb way to explain it.

Since "her eyes went" is simple past, the evening we're talking about is in the simple past also. Two things happened on that fateful evening: (first) he picked up the hold-all (second) her eyes went to it.

The main clause is in simple past, so the relative clause describing the earlier event is in past perfect.

So I should have said, it establishes that the [reference time] is that evening. And it establishes that Chavez picked the thing up at some time earlier that same evening.

You may well ask how we know that both events happened on the same [simple past] evening, since the sentence doesn't say so. We just have to assume it, since there's no other information.

There's also the fact that the speaker chooses to use the definite article, "the evening," and there's simply no other evening for "the" to refer to.

I"m thinking of a Jim Webb song, The Paper Chase: And later in the day she'll be searching for a way/ To let you know she's ready for your little game to end. Here again, the important thing is the use of the definite article, "later in the day." It will always mean "that same day," which may or may not have already been mentioned. Not the day before!

Sorry to go on and on. - A.

CalifJim · Answer

TuongvanFrankly speaking , "earlier + in the evening/in the day " seems too difficult to me:

I can't imagine why.
in the evening means (approximately) between 6 o'clock and 10 o'clock.
Perhaps Chavez picked up the hold-all at 6:30.
Perhaps, her eyes went to the hold-all at her feet at 8 o'clock.
6:30 is "earlier in the evening" than 8.

TuongvanDoes "earlier in the evening" mean "in the evening before" ?

No! Absolutely not!
earlier in the evening means at a time during the evening that is before some other time. In this sentence, the other time is the time when her eyes went to the hold-all at her feet.
CJ

earlier in the evening

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