gil12345
Senior Member
chinese
- Nov 24, 2012
- #1
Sometimes I found sentences like this. "On mornings he would go to the supermarket."
sometimes "In the mornings he would go to the supermarket."
Which one is better?
Thank You
B
Beryl from Northallerton
Senior Member
British English
- Nov 24, 2012
- #2
Where do you find sentences like "On mornings he would go to the supermarket."? It's not English as I understand it, but maybe it contains a typo, or there's a context which renders it meaningful.
T
Tazzler
Senior Member
Maryland
American English
- Nov 24, 2012
- #3
Without any modification the usual phrase that everyone accepts is "in the morning". Or "mornings" sometimes for short.
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gil12345
Senior Member
chinese
- Nov 24, 2012
- #4
the sentence below is the original sentence from National Geographic.
"On mornings when the wind is not too hazardous, his catch fetches two or even three dollars--which means that he, his parents, and his two younger will have enough to eat that day."
the following sentence is from Longman Dictionary.
"I was up early in the morning, but Holmes was up earlier."
Can I say "in the morning I was up early, but Holmes was up earlier."
B
Beryl from Northallerton
Senior Member
British English
- Nov 24, 2012
- #5
Thank you, gil12345
This is just the sort of information that you should include when starting a thread - just a little tip for next time (your answers will come a lot faster)
'On mornings when the wind is not too hazardous .... ' The 'when' is the what enables use of 'on mornings' here.
Can I say "in the morning I was up early, but Holmes was up earlier."
I think you probably can ...just about, but I don't.
gil12345
Senior Member
chinese
- Nov 24, 2012
- #6
Thank you.
Can I say "In the mornings when the wind is not too hazardous, his catch fetches two or even three dollars--which means that he, his parents, and his two younger will have enough to eat that day?"
Thank you
linguos
Senior Member
Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), Poland
Polish
- Nov 24, 2012
- #7
Beryl from Northallerton said:
'On mornings when the wind is not too hazardous .... ' The 'when' is the what enables use of 'on mornings' here.
Is there any grammar rule that would explain why the use of "when" here makes it correct to say "on mornings"?
sdgraham
Senior Member
Oregon, USA
USA English
- Nov 24, 2012
- #8
linguos said:
Is there any grammar rule that would explain why the use of "when" here makes it correct to say "on mornings"?
None that I know of. As we have repeatedly pointed out here, the way to learn prepositions in English is (painfully) one by one.
panjandrum
Senior Member
Belfast, Ireland
English-Ireland (top end)
- Nov 24, 2012
- #9
linguos said:
Is there any grammar rule that would explain why the use of "when" here makes it correct to say "on mornings"?
I couldn't quote a rule, but in general, if there is additional information that defines a specific set of mornings than "on mornings" is possible.
If what you want to say is equivalent to "every morning", then "on mornings" should not be used.
linguos
Senior Member
Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), Poland
Polish
- Nov 24, 2012
- #10
sdgraham said:
None that I know of. As we have repeatedly pointed out here, the way to learn prepositions in English is (painfully) one by one.
Oh, that's very reassuring. Alas, I guess that prepositions are one of the hardest things to learn in any language.
B
Beryl from Northallerton
Senior Member
British English
- Nov 24, 2012
- #11
gil12345 said:
Thank you.
Can I say "In the mornings when the wind is not too hazardous, his catch fetches two or even three dollars--which means that he, his parents, and his two younger will have enough to eat that day?"
Thank you
I'm not at all sure about this 'in the mornings' phrase which Tazzler has endorsed. I can't imagine ever using it, nor can I think of a context where it might work. For me, I think it has to be 'in the morning'.
linguos said:
Is there any grammar rule that would explain why the use of "when" here makes it correct to say "on mornings"?
I'm sorry I can't supply you with one. But I've just thought of a rule of thumb that might work: [on + mornings] but [in + the + morning]
I like coffee in the morning.
On mornings such as these, I'd rather stay in bed. (Cross-posted)
PaulQ
Senior Member
UK
English - England
- Nov 24, 2012
- #12
"on mornings" is the plural of "on a morning". This means that "mornings" mean "no particular/any mornings" -yet if it is followed by "he went jogging" the information is unhelpful. Thus, to be used, [both singular and plural] must be qualified by phrase/clause (e.g. in Scotland /such as these / like these / when it is cold / in the winter / towards Easter / after it had rained etc.)
(More information on the same lines)
B
Beryl from Northallerton
Senior Member
British English
- Nov 24, 2012
- #13
Hummph. That's true. And we can also say 'on the morning' too, which rather puts paid to my 'rule of thumb' .
'Where were you on the morning of the twenty-fourth of November?'
T
Tazzler
Senior Member
Maryland
American English
- Nov 24, 2012
- #14
The plural was a slip. It should be singular.
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