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#2 (permalink) Mon Feb 25, 2008 17:13 pm The use of "until late" |
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| I think it's more natural to say "My children like to sleep late on weekends". You can also say "My children like to have a lie-in on weekends", which means the same thing. |
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Theeny I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 15
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#3 (permalink) Mon Feb 25, 2008 18:07 pm The use of "until late" |
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Hi Tom,
There is also the expression 'sleep in', which has the same idea.
Alan _________________ English as a Second Language You can read my ESL story Present Simple |
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Alan Co-founder

Joined: 27 Sep 2003 Posts: 13891 Location: UK
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#4 (permalink) Sun Mar 30, 2008 19:24 pm The use of "until late" |
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Sorry, but I could not make myself clear.
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My children sleep late on weekends. (Doesn't it give the sense of night time?) My children sleep until late on weekends. (Doesn't it give the sense of the morning time?) |
So a mother who wants to talk about the moring time, can she say this:
My children sleep until late on weekends.
Tom |
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Tom I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 30 May 2006 Posts: 2103
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#5 (permalink) Sun Mar 30, 2008 19:34 pm The use of "until late" |
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| Tom wrote: |
Sorry, but I could not make myself clear.
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My children sleep late on weekends. (Doesn't it give the sense of night time?) No, Tom, it doesn't. In this sentence, the word 'late' refers to the time when the sleeping ends and the children get up.
My children sleep until late on weekends. (Doesn't it give the sense of the morning time?) Yes, that's what it means, but we don't usually include the word 'until'. |
So a mother who wants to talk about the moring time, can she say this:
My children sleep until late on weekends.
Tom |
Hi Tom
Both 'sleep late' and 'sleep in' refer to sleeping longer than usual. In other words, both expressions refer to getting out of bed later than usual. . _________________ "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8316 Location: USA
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#6 (permalink) Sun Mar 30, 2008 19:55 pm The use of "until late" |
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Many thanks, Amy, for the prompt and detailed answer.
So do you find the red sentence odd in the following conversation held one morning in an office.
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A- Why are you looking so tired today, Kaul? B- Oh, I slept (very) late last night. |
Tom |
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Tom I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 30 May 2006 Posts: 2103
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#7 (permalink) Sun Mar 30, 2008 20:03 pm The use of "until late" |
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Yes, I do find it odd.
It would be more typical to say "I went to bed (very) late last night" or "I couldn't get to sleep until very late" or "It was ages before I was able to fall asleep last night".
There are any number of things you could say, but unfortunately "I slept late" is not one of them. . _________________ "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8316 Location: USA
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