On the weekend vs. At the weekend

[english-test.net]

Hello!

I wonder if one of you, English language experts, could help me out! A few years ago I was helping my niece with her English homework (in Portugal) and there was a phrase about "the week-end", which the girl's teacher corrected to "at the weekend". I don't remember what else it said, but in Canada where I studied and worked for 30 years, I never saw anyone write "at the weekend". We always said "on the, during the, this, next...weekend", but never "at the w/e". Since the phrase that I helped my niece write didn't say "at the w/e" the teacher marked it wrong, as well as all the other phrases that I had worked on...it was awful!!! Feel free to send me your opinion! Thanks for taking interest in my dilemma. Yours truly, Hope Melo
PS: feel free to browse through my site and send me a list of my mistakes! Seven years of being away from the English language really has taken its toll on my performance - but I'm still fighting!

[english-test.net]

Dear Melo,

Many thanks for your email. As for the teacher who corrected your niece's work - he obviously was one of those conservative people who stick to dusted grammar rules because they are afraid of losing control and power. English is an international language spoken and used in many different parts of the world. That's why there are different versions of English - the two main ones represented by the North American standard and the British standard. Part of the differences between the two is the use of prepositions. In British English there is a tendency to use 'at' in certain combinations where Americans and Canadians use the preposition 'on'. So, an English or Irish person says 'at the weekend' while the American or Canadian says 'on the weekend'. The American might say 'in the office' whereas the British might say 'at the office'. Those differences are minor and they spice up the English language rather than complicate it. A teacher who marks 'on the weekend' as 'incorrect' (I don't like the term 'incorrect') is narrow minded and does not know that language constantly changes its purpose is communication not 'grammatical correctness'. Regards

[newmind]

So, it's a question of British or American English?

[Torsten]

Yes, British people say 'at the weekend' whereas Americans prefer 'at the weekend'. More on this topic here: The Consumer Society: The Business of Gluttony
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[mejcej]

There is another example I know of.
British : at the front / at the back
American : in the front / in the back
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[Yankee]

Hi mejcej

I think that statement is a little too general. I don't think you can say that Americans would not say "at the front/back" or that our British cousins would not say "in the front/back".

Did you have specific examples in mind?

Amy

PS
I've already sent Slava a PM requesting deletion of all the spam posted by "Edbastardup".

[Sultano]

It depends on what you study ,is it American English or British English. If you are in British atmosphere, I must use at the weekend.and with American atmosphere I will use on the weekend. It's like centre and center..labour, labor,and so on.
Here is a question if I sat for IELTS, ....On or At?
If it is TOEFL,.....what will be the answer? on the week end or at the week end?

[Yankee]

Hi Sultano

Yes, I agree that Americans say "on the weekend" and not "at the weekend".

I would expect a good test of English to accept both prepostions.

Amy

[mejcej]

[Tobias]

Special care should be taken with standard Canadian English, though, as it is NOT the same as US (or UK) English. Sometimes it follows US conventions (e.g. 'on the weekend' rather than 'at the weekend'), but at other times it follows British conventions (e.g. 'in hospital' rather than 'in the hospital'). Canadians use spellings like 'labour', 'centre', 'travelling', and 'analyse' (like the Brits)...but also 'organize' and 'jail' (like the Americans). Some of these inconsistencies are due to historical reasons (banking terminology/expressions are often influenced by standard UK English, whereas automotive terminology/expressions are influenced by US English). Even within Canada, there is sometimes a lack of consensus over which forms to use. The best advice would be to make an educated guess but be tentative about it.

[prezbucky]

The doctor who goes out on the field/court to help injured athletes:

America: trainer

UK: physio
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[Tobias]

Speaking of 'trainer'...

The casual athletic shoes frequently used for jogging (or relaxing ):

UK English: 'trainers'
US English: 'sneakers'
Canadian English: 'runners'

[prezbucky]

The English biscuit is the American cookie.
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[Tobias]

Except for 'chocolate chip cookies', which are often still 'cookies' in the UK. Savoury/salty-type 'biscuits' in the UK may be known as 'crackers' in the US. And what's known as a 'biscuit' in the US is actually a type of bread/roll.

Brits may say 'that takes the biscuit' as an idiomatic expression that means 'that's the limit'/'that exceeds everything', but Americans often say 'that takes the cake.'

[Tamara]

I remember that first time when, walking with my dog (Great Dane Greta), I was asked by my neighbour lady whether I buy for her (for the dog ) biscuits I answered something like 'Oh, she loves biscuits very much, but it’s too sweet for dogs' (implying biscuit in Russian view ) and the lady politely masked her wonder.

Just a bit later I learnt that dog biscuits are just special 'rusks'/dried crusts/crackers.
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