xiaokaoy
Good Evening vs Good Night When I was in high school, my English teacher told us that the main difference between 'evening' and 'night' is that the former only refers to the early part of the night between the end of the day and the time most people go to bed. On the other hand, he never explained to us what the difference between 'good evening' and 'good night' is. As a result, I always thought the difference between them is that 'good evening' is used in the evening while 'good night' is used at night, until I came across a book that mentioned the usage of 'good night' a few years later. Interestingly, a film festival televised live a few years ago made me realize that my high school English teacher was unlikely to be the only one who failed to explain the difference between those two frequently used expressions to their students. On a Saturday night about ten years ago, I was watching the opening ceremony of a film festival on live television. Many movie stars attended the event, but I cannot remember who they were, except for a famous Chinese actress who has won quite a few film awards so far, including Golden Horse Award. After walking the red carpet, she arrived at the microphone. Possibly because some foreigners were also present, she said in English, "Good evening....." Before saying "Ladies and Gentlemen", however, she took a look at her watch, and then "corrected" what she had just said. She said, "Sorry, good night...." On hearing this, I raised my head and took a look at the clock on the wall. It was almost 12.00.
Mar 31, 2015 7:19 AM
Corrections · 5

Good Evening vs Good Night

When I was in high school, my English teacher told us that the main difference between 'evening' and 'night' is that the former only refers to the early part of the night between the end of the day and the time most people go to bed. On the other hand, he never explained to us what the difference between 'good evening' and 'good night' is. As a result, I always thought the difference between them is that 'good evening' is used in the evening while 'good night' is used at night, until I came across a book that mentioned the usage of 'good night' a few years later. Interestingly, a film festival televised live a few years ago made me realize that my high school English teacher was unlikely to be the only one who failed to explain the difference between those two frequently-used expressions to their his students. (This is a tricky point of usage, but I think that since the subject ("my high school English teacher") is singular, then the possessive pronoun at the end should agree with that ("his", "her", or "his or her"). You could change the wording of the sentence to avoid this problem, although I like the way you said it here.)

On a Saturday night about ten years ago, I was watching the opening ceremony of a film festival on live television. Many movie stars attended the event, but I cannot remember who they were, except for a famous Chinese actress who has won quite a few film awards so far, including the Golden Horse Award. After walking the red carpet, she arrived at the microphone. Possibly because some foreigners were also present, she said in English, "Good evening....." Before saying "Ladies and Gentlemen", however, she took a look at her watch, and then "corrected" what she had just said. She said, "Sorry, good night...." On hearing this, I raised my head and took a look at the clock on the wall. It was almost 12.00 (It would be less ambiguous to say "It was almost midnight.").

 

There's not much to correct here. You really write well!

April 1, 2015
Wow.. you're good!
March 31, 2015
pretty good!
March 31, 2015
Want to progress faster?
Join this learning community and try out free exercises!