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Imagine I told you something like:

If you don't reply for the next 3 hours, I will stop talking to you.

What would you think the meaning was? Do you think it would be

  • If you don't keep replying for the next 3 hours I will stop talking to you. or >- If you don't reply sometime between those 3 hours, I'll stop talking to you.

Is it just a matter of emphasis? E.g.:

  • If you don't reply for the next 3 hours, I will stop talking to you.
  • If you don't reply for the next 3 hours. I will stop talking to you.
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If you don't reply for the next 3 hours, I will stop talking to you.

Means, if you don't keep replying the next 3 hours..., e.g. give you replies for three hours straight.

For: used to indicate amount, extent, or duration: a bill for five dollars; walked for miles; stood in line for an hour. (TFD)

If you want a reply, as in "If you don't reply sometime during those 3 hours", it would be correct to say,

If you don't reply in the next 3 hours...*

Emphasis has nothing to do with it. It is a matter of correct word choice.

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    I disagree with the first paragraph. "If you don't reply for the next 3 hours" does not mean "if you don't keep replying". It means "if you keep not replying". Huge difference. (In fact, I struggle to think of a scenario in which "reply" could mean "keep replying". It just doesn't work that way. You have to say "keep replying" to get that meaning.)
    – RegDwigнt
    Oct 9, 2014 at 20:16
  • IMO, of your examples, "if you don't reply in the next three hours" is the most common way to state that a reply should be received within that 3-hour window of time.
    – Kristina Lopez
    Oct 9, 2014 at 20:35
  • @KristinaLopez - of "my" examples? It was the only answer I gave.
    – anongoodnurse
    Oct 9, 2014 at 21:02
  • @RegDwigнt - I am a native (AmE) speaker and have never heard the structure given. If someone said for the next 3 hours, I would understand, but would not think it correct.
    – anongoodnurse
    Oct 9, 2014 at 21:04
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    Sorry @medica, I was confused by all the shaded sections. In any event, I agreed with you and gave a +1. :-)
    – Kristina Lopez
    Oct 9, 2014 at 21:43

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