How do I correct this (details inside)
Disclaimer: despite a reference to an assignment here, this is definitely not a homework question. This is an English usage question.
OK, here’s the background story: a few days ago our teacher gave us a writing assignment as a homework. The topic was something like: “Write a letter to your English friend to apologize for having to delay his/her visit to your home next month and explain the reason”. This morning we handed our papers down to the teacher. She then asked us to exchanged our papers, making sure each student had the paper of someone other than himself/herself, and correct all the grammatical mistakes before giving it back to her.
I got the papers of a boy who wrote something like this: ”...I’ll see you at 10th next month”. At 10th next month? I have a feeling he was literally translating every word of his language into English. But I’m not sure if he was right or not, let alone what the equivalent phrase to that in English is. The boy was sure he was right, and I didn’t (couldn’t) correct it.
Can you point out what the correct phrase is?
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10 Answers
On the tenth of next month. He was wrong.
“I’ll see you on the tenth, next month.”
Prepositions tend to be some of the trickiest parts of language. The answers above are correct and you are correct that what the other student wrote is incorrect. It should be “on the” 10th next month, not “at.” Adding the “of” before next month is also correct, you can put the word “of” in before “next month” or leave it out in my opinion. Although, I think adding the of is best.
My husband still has some trouble with prepositions and he has been speaking English almost his whole life and went to university here. Like I said, tricky.
Also, when to put in the word “the” or not can be difficult to master, depending on what language is the person’s first language.
Thanks everybody! I should have stated that I’ve already known his usage of the preposition was wrong. I just want to know if the “10th next month” part is correct or not.
Anyway, I’m so grateful.
They are both prepositions “at” and “of.”
Additional info: if he had written the 10th of December he would have to use the “of.”
The “10th next month” part needs either a comma, or “of”.
So either “on the10th of next month”, or “the tenth, next month”.
The way he wrote the sentence is the way I have seen many Europeans with decent educations and general fluency in the language speak English. I may have even seen this from Indian correspondents who grew up speaking “the Queen’s English”.
I believe this used to be the form in the US in colonial days, too, when people would speak of “at the 10th instance of the month”, meaning “on the tenth of the month”. This is how we say it in America; I’m not prepared to say that “it’s wrong” if it’s done some other way, but it is “unfamiliar” to American ears.
“On the tenth, next month” would have been perfectly acceptable and would not draw a comment.
However, “She asked us to exchange our papers”, not “She asked us to exchanged our papers”.
@CWOTUS “She asked us to exchange our papers”, not “She asked us to exchanged our papers”.
Sorry, I didn’t even notice that until now. My bad :p
“Next month on the 10th” might read even more smoothly.
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