0

I am an ESL student and I wonder what the following sentence means.

During 1985 to 1988 , I worked at X company

Does it mean that 1988 was included?

I am not quite sure about the meaning since when this sentence was translated into my language, it meant that the person stopped their work in the beginning of 1988. However, I thought it meant that 1988 is included.

Improve this question
12
  • 2
    Please say where you read this sentence. Is it from an English course book, was it a phrases dictated by the teacher, did you read it on a newspaper etc.? To my ears saying "During X to X" is quite odd. – Mari-Lou A Dec 13 '13 at 6:22
  • I found it on a CV, and I was asked to translate these into my language. I am glade for your interest. Thank you. – Gap Sntin Dec 13 '13 at 7:03
  • Was the CV written by a native speaker? – Mari-Lou A Dec 13 '13 at 7:07
  • 1
    I would normally say: "Between 1985 to 1988 I worked at X company" Basically that person was employed for three years. Otherwise, I would use the structure, "from 1985 to 1988". My best guess is that the candidate is saying he worked until 1988. We don't know when his contract terminated. – Mari-Lou A Dec 13 '13 at 7:18
  • 3
    "Between 1985 and 1988 . . . – Edwin Ashworth Dec 13 '13 at 11:02
1

The phrasing indicates that employment at X began sometime between 1985-01-01 and 1985-12-31, and ended sometime between 1988-01-01 and 1988-12-31.

Best usage would be to use common date notations on a CV, with the dates abutting each other.

For example:

  • From 1985 to 1988 he worked at X.
  • From 1988 to 1993 he worked at Y.

This describes the broadest outlines of employment, although it does allow for anywhere between a period of unemployment nearly a year long, or almost an entire year's overlap between employers.

Improve this answer
3
  • 3
    I think it should be stated more explicitly, or really at all, that "during 1985 to 1988" is not English. Also, no space goes before a comma in English (or really any other language). So OP is trying to analyze a sentence written by someone who has no command of the language at all. No wonder he finds it confusing. – RegDwigнt♦ Dec 13 '13 at 10:02
  • I'd also contend that if you say 'to 1988', employment could end '31 December 1987' if 1988 is treated as an excluded upper bound. Especially so with something like a CV (while it's a formal document, it's not written according to a style-guide or ran by an editor). – anotherdave Dec 13 '13 at 13:30
  • The sentence was ran through a translator at least once, folks. OP was asking about the idiom, not the known-to-be-bad grammar. – DougM Dec 13 '13 at 17:54
0

Yes, 1988 is included in the span of work at X company.

Improve this answer
0
0

I got the impression that it means someone started work for a company, sometime in 1985 and stopped sometime in 1988. I wrote the word sometimes because, no particular date in 1985 or 1988 was included.

The way it is written is a little awkward. To sound more natural, I would word it as From 1985 to 1988, I worked for X company, and write the name of the particular company where you have written "X company".

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.