Some questions about 'in'

[Haihao]

Hi,

To my very limited knowledge, my feeling for the preposition 'in' is somewhere about within a certain period of time or space. However, I found and pondered that (only?) one exception could be made when we say 'she will come back in 10 days' that it could mean 'after 10 days from now' or 'at the point of time after 10 days elapse starting from now'.

Is the 'in' out of the sense of 'within' or 'during' and just meaning 'after' here in this case? Or is it still 'in' but....

haihao

[Yankee]

Hi Haihao

If someone tells me on Novemebr 10th that 'she will be back in 10 days', then I would understand that she will be back on November 20th.

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Floren]

Hi Mrs Yankee,

In this case, I understand the word "in" is the point of time after 10 days and starting at the moment people say. And latest is 10 days, not 10 days form the moment we say.

[Yankee]

Hi Floren

In Haihao's sentence, "in ten days" means "in ten days' time" (10 days from now). Without any further context or qualification, the only way to understand 'She will be back in 10 days' is the way I described it above.

If you say 'She will be back within 10 days, then I would understand '10 days from now or sooner'.

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Haihao]

Hi Amy,

I would like to 'split hairs' a little more about 'in'. So, 'in' in 'back in 10 days' has a sense of 'at the end of 10 days from now' so that it is more or less 'after'. However, if we say 'back in the next 10 days', then the 'in' would be 'at anytime within 10 days from now' so that it is more or less 'through or during', am I right?

haihao

[Pond969]

Haihao ... you are correct in that 'back within 10 days' would mean anytime in the next 10 days (although it would tend to suggest a period closer to ten days rather than, say, one).

As to the phrase 'back in ten days', Yankee explained it very well. However, I think you are looking for a precision that doesn't exist in the common usage. For instance, if today is Monday and I say that 'she will be back in ten days', I could mean that she will be back on either the Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday of the following week. It all can depend on what day the speaker is counting from, and even the time of day he or she makes the statement.For absolute precision you would need to ask of what specific day the woman in question is expected to return.

[Yankee]

Hi Haihao

I agree with Pond. Saying things such as "will be back in ten days" is open to slight variation in interpretation and is not as precise as saying "will return at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 20th" (for example).

Adding the word 'next' does change things, however. Saying "will be back in the next 10 days" has a meaning closer to 'within 10 days'. It could be 6 days or it could be the full 10 days, etc. I would tend to expect it to be closer to ten days than to two days, though.

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Haihao]

Thank you both very much for your patience with my spliting hairs. Now I am thoroghly beat out and convinced.

haihao