1
  • I will send you my proposal two months before the exam date.
  • I will send you my proposal two months before the exam day.

Which one is more correct?

Improve this question
2
  • They mean the same thing. Neither is more correct than the other.
    – Jim
    Commented Sep 27, 2015 at 5:11
  • Here they are the same. In general though 'day' refers to the day of the week (eg Tuesday) and 'date' refers to the month date and year.
    – Mitch
    Commented Sep 28, 2015 at 16:01

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

As Jim said, both variations are acceptable, and they are functionally interchangeable.

Stylistically, I prefer date over day in the relatively formal context of your example sentence. Here's what sounds most natural to my ears:

I will send you my proposal two months prior to the exam date.

Again, both of your original examples are grammatically correct. I'm just musing on nuances of style here.

Something else to consider: in your example, "exam date" and "exam day" are basically interchangeable as the objects of a preposition. They barely differ. However, it's less simple when we cast them as the SUBJECT of a clause/sentence. "Exam day" is acceptable (similar to game day, Christmas day, graduation day, even Monday & today) and is interchangeable with "the day of the exam".
On the other hand, "exam date" does not work as a sentence subject; instead, you could say "the date of the exam", but note the difference in meaning ("date" = the calendar number, "day" = the occasion/event).

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Something else just occurred to me. In your example, "exam date" and "exam day" are basically interchangeable as the objects of a preposition. They barely differ. However, it's less simple when we cast them as the SUBJECT of a clause/sentence. "Exam day" is acceptable (similar to game day, Christmas day, graduation day, even Monday & today) and is interchangeable with "the day of the exam". On the other hand, "exam date" does not work as a sentence subject; instead, you could say "the date of the exam", but note the difference in meaning ("date"=the calendar number vs."day"=the occasion/event)
    – rchl
    Commented Sep 27, 2015 at 6:57
  • I took the liberty of incorporating your comment into your answer since I thought it added some worthwhile observations that shouldn't be stuck down in an afterthought.
    – Hellion
    Commented Dec 31, 2015 at 15:47

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .