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JungKim Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
hoped to have acquired the property by February
An American news article titled "California company on verge of buying Kirkland's Totem Lake Malls property, redevelopment" has this:
While Centercal Properties was unavailable for comment, Planning Director Eric Shields said they are close to acquiring the property. Though Centercal hoped to have acquired the property by February, the King County Tax Accessor still lists co-owners Coventry Real Estate Advisors and Developers Diversified Realty as the owners.
The article was written in March and the the California company "Centercal Properties" hadn't yet acquired the property at the time of writing.
My question is whether the boldfaced portion can be rewritten as follows, assuming that the acquisition process had started early February and been expected to have finished by the end of February:
(i) Centercal hoped to have acquired the property in February
(ii) Centercal hoped to acquire the property in February
(iii) Centercal hoped to acquire the property by February
While Centercal Properties was unavailable for comment, Planning Director Eric Shields said they are close to acquiring the property. Though Centercal hoped to have acquired the property by February, the King County Tax Accessor still lists co-owners Coventry Real Estate Advisors and Developers Diversified Realty as the owners.
The article was written in March and the the California company "Centercal Properties" hadn't yet acquired the property at the time of writing.
My question is whether the boldfaced portion can be rewritten as follows, assuming that the acquisition process had started early February and been expected to have finished by the end of February:
(i) Centercal hoped to have acquired the property in February
(ii) Centercal hoped to acquire the property in February
(iii) Centercal hoped to acquire the property by February
Top answer
JungKim (i) Centercal hoped to have acquired the property in February No, that is different. 'By' = 'before' (and possibly 'during' when a lengthy period like a month is mentioned). JungKim ii) Centercal hoped to acquire the property in February No, for the same reason.
- JungKim (i) Centercal hoped to have acquired the property in February No, that is different.
- 'By' = 'before' (and possibly 'during' when a lengthy period like a month is mentioned).
- JungKim ii) Centercal hoped to acquire the property in February No, for the same reason.
- JungKim (iii) Centercal hoped to acquire the property by February Yes, but 'had hoped' would have made the situation clearer.
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12 Answers
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JungKim(i) Centercal hoped to have acquired the property in FebruaryNo, that is different. 'By' = 'before' (and possibly 'during' when a lengthy period like a month is mentioned).
JungKimii) Centercal hoped to acquire the property in FebruaryNo, for the same reason.
JungKim(iii) Centercal hoped to
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JungKimby February~ in January at the latest.
Not the same as 'in February'.
CJ
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Mister MicawberJungKim(i) Centercal hoped to have acquired the property in FebruaryNo, that is different. 'By' = 'before' (and possibly 'during' when a lengthy period like a month is mentioned).Under the presented assumption that the acquisition process had started early February and been expected to have finished by the end of February, 'by' cannot imply the
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CalifJim JungKimby February~ in January at the latest.Not the same as 'in February'.CJOh, do you mean that 'by February' cannot include 'February' at all?
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JungKimUnder the presented assumption that the acquisition process had started early February and been expected to have finished by the end of FebruaryI did not notice your limiting condition, sorry. You may ignore my post above.
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JungKimOh, do you mean that 'by February' cannot include 'February' at all?That's my take on it. Yes.
CJ
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JungKimOh, do you mean that 'by February' cannot include 'February' at all?You'd have to use 'by the end of February'.
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CalifJim JungKimOh, do you mean that 'by February' cannot include 'February' at all?That's my take on it. Yes.CJSorry for keep asking the same question, but this is not what I previously knew.
When you say, "I'll have it done by tomorrow", do you mean that you will finish it today??
I used to think that it meant that you'd finish it tomorrow.
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JungKimWhen you say, "I'll have it done by tomorrow", do you mean that you will finish it today??Yes. That's what I usually mean. Or maybe I'll finish it very early tomorrow, but still in time to show someone the finished product while it's still "tomorrow". It depends exactly what time tomorrow the other person wants it done. If I typically meet a friend
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So the meaning of 'by' heavily depends on context as to whether to include or exclude the time span following 'by', doesn't it?
For example, there's this paragraph from an IT article:
Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple
For example, there's this paragraph from an IT article:
Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple
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