The week/ a week/ week

Question

can I say?Monday is the day of a week between Sunday and Tuesday.Monday is the day of week between Sunday and Tuesday."Monday is the day of the week between Sunday and Tuesday." is the sentence I found on wikipedia. and I thougt 'the' is used before 'week' to generalize the word 'week', that is, to refer generally to weeks, not a week.But someone told me 'the' is used before 'week' because of 'between Sunday and Tuesday'.Dosn't 'between Sunday and Tuesday' make 'day' to 'the day', not 'week' to 'the week' ?who is right?thanks in advace.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

can I say?

Monday is the day of a week between Sunday and Tuesday. This doesn't sound right, because it sounds like there is more than one kind of week.

Monday is the day of week between Sunday and Tuesday. Not grammatical. But you could say 'Monday is the weekday between . . . '.

"Monday is the day of the week between Sunday and Tuesday." is the sentence I found on wikipedia. and I thought 'the' is used before 'week' to generalize the word 'week', that is, to refer generally to weeks, not a week. Yes, that's the idea.

But someone told me 'the' is used before 'week' because of 'between Sunday and Tuesday'.

No. You'd still say 'Monday is a day of the week'.

Dosn't 'between Sunday and Tuesday' make 'day' to 'the day', not 'week' to 'the week' ?

As I said above, there is only one kind of week, at least in terms of English names.

who is right? I am.

Best wishes, Clive

Doctor D · Answer

The correct sentence is "Monday is the day of the week between Sunday and Tuesday."

You can also say: "Monday is the day between Sunday and Tuesday."
Or: "Monday is a day of the week."

"Monday is the day of a week between Sunday and Tuesday" is wrong because it refers to a particular week rather than a generalized week. You are defining what Monday is.

"Monday is the day of week between Sunday and Tuesday" is wrong because "week" (a noun) requires an article (either "a" or "the") before it. That leaves "the week."

Kis7385 · Answer

thank you all, clive, Doctor D

Kis7385 · Answer

I have a few more questions.

1. How about "Monday is the day of weeks between Sunday and Tuesday"

I know 'the X' can always be generalized, but Xs, and a X can be sometimes.

A dog is a faithful animal.
StartFragment>

Dogs are faithful animals.

StartFragment>

The dog is a faithful animal.

above all are generalizing 'dog'.

you don't like a dog, do you? (X)

StartFragment>

you don't like dogs, do you?

you don't like the dog, do you?

I was taught the first one is not acceptable. but the second one is ok.

StartFragment>

2. Summer is one of the four temperate seasons, marked by the time of year with the longest days

year is genearlly regared as a countable noun. but this year is uncountable. What's the difference between 'time of year' and 'day of week'?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

1. How about "Monday is the day of weeks between Sunday and Tuesday"

'day of weeks' is incorrect. It makes your meanung extremely unclear.

It sounds like you mean

(Monday is the day of ) (weeks between Sunday and Tuesday)

which makes no sense.

I know 'the X' can always be generalized, but Xs, and a X can be sometimes.

A dog is a faithful animal.

~~StartFragment~~>

Dogs are faithful animals.

~~StartFragment~~>

The dog is a faithful animal.

You can also say

A week has seven datys

The week has seven days

Weeks have seven days

But note that these are all much simpler statements than the one you are having trouble with.

above all are generalizing 'dog'.

you don't like a dog, do you? (X)

you don't like dogs, do you?

you don't like the dog, do you?

I was taught the first one is not acceptable. but the second one is ok.Yes.

The third one is not OK, as a generalization.

2. Summer is one of the four temperate seasons, marked by the time of year with the longest days

year is genearlly regared as a countable noun. but this year is uncountable. What's the difference between 'time of year' and 'day of week'?

The former is OK because it is idiomatic. The latter is not. Instead, and as I mentioned in my last post, you should consider the word 'weekday'.

Clive

The week/ a week/ week

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