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Kooyeen Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
in - You have to do it IN an hour
Hi, 
In the sentence "You have to do it in an hour" ,what does in mean? After an hour or before an hour has passed?
In the sentence "You have to do it in an hour" ,what does in mean? After an hour or before an hour has passed?
- Is it my turn? Do I have to do that now?------ No, you have to do that in an hour (wait an hour before doing that)
- If you want to break the record, you'll have to do that in an hour (within an hour)
So, I'm having trouble with the meaning of in. Maybe it's simple, but I'm confused.
Thank you in advance.
Top answer
Unfortunately, both, or either :-) Its one of those phrases that's all in the way its said. As you show in your question, it can mean either 'wait an hour before doing that' or 'do that within an hour'. I tend to think that using 'in' for 'within' is not necessarily good english, but it used a lot.
- Unfortunately, both, or either :-) Its one of those phrases that's all in the way its said.
- As you show in your question, it can mean either 'wait an hour before doing that' or 'do that within an hour'.
- I tend to think that using 'in' for 'within' is not necessarily good english, but it used a lot.
- I know that's not much help, sorry!
- :-)
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3 Answers
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Unfortunately, both, or either :-)
Its one of those phrases that's all in the way its said. As you show in your question, it can mean either 'wait an hour before doing that' or 'do that within an hour'. I tend to think that using 'in' for 'within' is not necessarily good english, but it used a lot.
I know that's not much help, sorry! :-)
Its one of those phrases that's all in the way its said. As you show in your question, it can mean either 'wait an hour before doing that' or 'do that within an hour'. I tend to think that using 'in' for 'within' is not necessarily good english, but it used a lot.
I know that's not much help, sorry! :-)
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You have to do it in an hour
has two meanings. Here are some paraphrases that can be used to disambiguate the two meanings.
1. You can't take more than an hour to do it.
2. You'll have to do it an hour from now.
do it is vague. It can be taken to mean something which takes time to happen; it can be taken to mean something which
has two meanings. Here are some paraphrases that can be used to disambiguate the two meanings.
1. You can't take more than an hour to do it.
2. You'll have to do it an hour from now.
do it is vague. It can be taken to mean something which takes time to happen; it can be taken to mean something which
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