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Lagataw Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Verb for "deadline"

When I use the word deadline, I always use "meet" (e.g. I have to meet the deadline).

In the ESL book I'm using, the question reads "Do you have a deadline to finish?"

Is this OK? Can we "finish" a deadline?
  

Top answer

It definitely sounds incorrect to me - especially if you mean it in the transitive sense: I have to finish this deadline , "deadline" being the direct object of the infinitive. " (I have two weeks to go. I have two weeks before my work must be completed.

— Avangi

  • It definitely sounds incorrect to me - especially if you mean it in the transitive sense: I have to finish this deadline , "deadline" being the direct object of the infinitive.
  • " (I have two weeks to go.
  • I have two weeks before my work must be completed.
  • " The intention would be for "finish" to be intransitive, but I believe a native speaker would simply consider it wrong.
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3 Answers
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It definitely sounds incorrect to me - especially if you mean it in the transitive sense: I have to finish this deadline, "deadline" being the direct object of the infinitive.

In the intransitive sense, you could say, "I have two weeks to finish." (I have two weeks to go. I have two weeks before my work must be completed. I have two weeks in order to finish.)

Someo
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Thank you very much. I just needed a native speaker to back me up here.
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I will add that Avangi's "Is there a deadline for you to finish?' is a good, more standard version of what seems native to me and very informal: 'Do you have a deadline [at which] to finish?'
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