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In the weekend

or

On the weekend

I know various books denote it "on the weekend", but I need to know why "in the weekend" cannot be used even if it shows duration.

Rucheer M
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justin takro
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2 Answers2

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Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a great explanation for why. It is just an odd nuance of English that we do things on days and in months.

I'll be staying at school on the weekends.

and

I will return in the month of May.

The following two links give a few more examples.

Luke Fritz
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    Note that "over the weekend" can show duration, e.g., "She will be traveling over the weekend." Also, and I won't go too far with this because I'm a U.S. English speaker, "at the weekend" seems more common in British English than in U.S. English. – vstrong Sep 19 '15 at 03:18
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    To quote the second link, "At the weekend is a British English expression, which is used the same way as on the weekend in American English. Speakers of American English may understand this expression, but they do not use it." – Luke Fritz Sep 19 '15 at 03:33
  • What's interesting is . . . I don't think I say "on the weekend" much. More "this weekend" or "last weekend" or "over the weekend." It's a good question! – vstrong Sep 19 '15 at 03:48
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'In the weekend' is a common error.

A popular confusion is 'on the weekend' OR 'at the weekend'.

In that, it's the register that makes the difference. BrE and AmE

Learner's Dictionary quotes:

'At the weekend' is a British English expression, which is used the same way as 'on the weekend' in American English. Speakers of American English may understand this expression, but they do not use it.

Maulik V
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