Which is correct?
I will see her on the weekend.
I will see her during the weekend.
asked Jan 5, 2011 at 17:36
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2I've also heard a lot of people say "in the weekend"– JakeCommented Jan 5, 2011 at 20:58
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1Or what about "at" the end. For instance, when you use "end," you can say "in the (week)end," as Jason said above, or, "at the (week)end." Just a thought– Kyle LCommented Jan 6, 2011 at 1:41
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In my opinion, "in the weekend" is a colloquialism that one would do well to avoid, especially in written contexts of any kind.– Jimi OkeCommented Jan 6, 2011 at 14:02
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5 Answers
Neither. The answer is “this weekend”, as in “I will see her this weekend.” Depending on which weekend you mean, you could also say “next weekend”, which is the weekend following “this weekend”.
“On the weekend” is sometimes used, but sounds odd to me. “During the weekend” would only be applicable if you were clarifying that you meant not before or after, but during the weekend.
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-1: Per the answers & comments re what day is next tuesday? it's clear this and next are to some extent ambiguous, so by proscribing all prepositions you don't somehow magically resolve all usage issues. Anyway, although I've no authoritative source to back me up, I suspect most speakers like to include a preposition. There's no reason they shouldn't do this, just because some other people use a different one. Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 14:14
The best choice for your construction would be over the weekend.
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Upvoted with misgivings. Per my answer, over is most common in the US, and second most common in the UK, so it's ideal for Americans, but something of a compromise for Brits. Also, I don't remember taking against Neil Young for Out On The Weekend, so it's not obvious to me anyone should feel under any pressure to use anything other than whatever the people around them use (unless they're surrounded by people who say in the weekend, in which case they should definitely take your advice! :) Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 3:16
It's pointless trying to make a case for any difference in meaning between any of these prepositions. The main area where usage varies is that Americans favour "on the weekend"
whereas Britons favour "at the weekend"
Both nations also use over the weekend (for Americans, this is actually the most common form; for Brits, it's a close second). But for Brits, during the weekend is the least favoured of these top four prepositions (it's second-to-bottom for Americans, who really don't like at the weekend). And I'm pleased to report that in the weekend just isn't in the running according to NGrams!
Most speakers will be quite safe with this/next weekend, because most people in any particular linguistic community will have a common understanding of what these terms mean, but it's worth knowing that others may think differently, particularly when you're online and interacting with people who don't necessarily share your local idiomatic usage.
answered Mar 15, 2012 at 23:33
I would suggest at the weekend as normal English usage.
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4There must be a regional difference at play here: to me, at the weekend sounds awkward at best.– MarthaªCommented Jan 5, 2011 at 23:17
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2You're both right. The Brits & Irish say "at" and North Americans "on". And "late(r) in the weekend" is common on both sides I believe.– Percy P.Commented Jan 6, 2011 at 3:30
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-1: Per my usage charts, you're very likely British. If you'd said "normal British usage" I'd have either upvoted, or at least not downvoted. But given Americans overwhelmingly use on, and given there are far more of them than there are Brits, this answer is simply wrong. Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 3:02
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1@FumbleFingers - so you give out downvotes for someone using the word "English" to mean "characteristic of England"? Interesting!– user16269Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 8:08
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@David Wallace: I don't see I have much choice sometimes on a site called English Language & Usage, where clearly the word means Anglophone. If Constantine did indeed mean of England it's appallingly ambiguous usage in this context. Either the wording of the answer is misleading, or it's incorrect anyway; whichever way I look at it, it's definitely downvotable in my eyes. Commented Mar 16, 2012 at 14:03
On the weekend is the normal usage. You can use during the weekend if your meaning specifically involves periods of time rather than just sometime "on the weekend."
