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YoY
Sunday or a Sunday
Hello, I would like to know some nuance of saying Sunday or a Sunday.
I found the below sentence from the news article.
"Riding the circular Yamanote Line on a Sunday in Tokyo,..."
If you say taking the same train regularly on Sunday, is it correct say "on Sundays"?
Thank you very much in advance.
Jul 6, 2014 6:48 AM
Answers · 6
1
"On a Sunday" would be referring to the idea of the day.
So, for example, "it's always best to put out the recycling on a Sunday". That sentence just refers to putting out the recycling on a Sunday.
"On Sunday" would be referring to the idea of doing something regularly.
So, for example, "I always go to the supermarket on Sundays". That sentence refers to doing an activity on a regular basis.
You may not use "Riding the circular Yamanote Line on a Sunday in Tokyo" to talk about doing something on a regular basis. If you wanted to talk about doing something regularly on Sundays that involves this sentence, one might say
"Yoko has a very regimented schedule during the week. A part of this schedule includes riding the circular Yamanote Line on Sundays in Tokyo to get to her mother's house."
I hope that makes some sort of sense.
July 6, 2014
1
You can say, "Most Sundays, I take the train" or "On Sunday, I take the train". Personally saying 'on Sundays' would sound grammatically correct depending on the context. For example, "I work on Sundays" is a grammatically correct sentence, while "I take the train on Sundays" does not sound entirely correct.
July 6, 2014
1
Yes, if it's habitual, you can say "on Sundays". Normally, you wouldn't say "a Sunday". It's only if Sunday is an adjective or adverb I believe, and not a noun. For example, "On a Sunday evening (evening is the noun)..." However, like in the news article, in the sentence given, "on a Sunday" is a prepositional phrase acting also like an adverb, so saying "a Sunday" would be when Sunday acts as an adjective or adverb in a sentence. Hope I made sense!
July 6, 2014
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YoY
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
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English, French, Spanish
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