2

Which one is right?

1 I'm free Thursday.
2 I'm free on Thursday.

I thought if you want to say that something happens during a particular day, you should use on, as in 'They’ll be here on Tuesday.' But I came across the title sentence without on, and now I don't know exactly when to use on before a specific day and when not to!

Schwale
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Færd
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1 Answers1

6

Actually, even for the example that you gave, "on" really isn't necessary:

You could have either

They’ll be here on Tuesday.

OR

They'll be here Tuesday.

Same goes for "free on Thursday" vs "free Thursday." In my experience, both are used more or less interchangeably.

Alex K
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    So when is it necessary to use on ? – Færd Dec 08 '15 at 19:35
  • @MJF That is actually a complicated question in my mind. For example, if you're talking about an event, "The game will be on Friday" sounds MUCH better than, "The game will be Friday." You may need to wait for someone else to expand on general rules for "on," because I can't seem to come up with a general rule. – Alex K Dec 08 '15 at 19:38
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    I've been thinking about this for a little while and I can't come up with a construction that seems to require the "on". It is definitely preferred in some cases (as in Alex's comment), but not required in any situation I can think of right now. – Todd Wilcox Dec 08 '15 at 19:41
  • Well, hearing that from native speakers is a relief. Thanks. – Færd Dec 08 '15 at 19:44
  • Umm, for some reason, the versions without on sound very strange to me. – Alois Mahdal Dec 08 '15 at 20:00
  • @AloisMahdal Even the title? I can give you five more on-less sentences from my search through the web in American texts. – Færd Dec 08 '15 at 20:09
  • @MJF I'm not arguing; just that in last 10+ years or so, as an IT specialist, I've been spending significant part of my days reading (and learning) US/non-US English texts (from internet articles to manuals to company email lists) and I still wouldn't feel like omitting the on. From that I assume: if that's common, maybe the IT industry branch is a bit different...? – Alois Mahdal Dec 08 '15 at 20:20
  • Omitting the "on" is just informal. – Era Dec 08 '15 at 21:25
  • @AloisMahdal They sound perfectly natural to me. –  Dec 08 '15 at 22:34
  • I prefer # 2.I'm free on Thursday. – yethu Dec 09 '15 at 01:14