I'm happy if some one explain or correct the sentences.
Example sentence
The application should have been mailed before yesterday.
Q1, Does the day mean the day some one posted a letter? or the day when the letter arrive dat the office?
Q2, Though according to the explanation about Q1, what difference are there using by, or until instead of before ?
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4 comments:
Hi Mieko...I will take a stab at your questions.. (stab being a slang expression)
Most post offices here have a date stamp. So, you deliver a letter to the PO and it is stamp the day they received it...October 9. If it is a time-sensitive letter (meaning it needs to be at a destination by a certain date), the PO stamp will be the deciding factor if the letter is late (perhaps for a payment of a bill, for example)
“By a certain date”...means just that. “Your passport papers need to be in the office by November 1.” In other words, November 1 is the deadline, but the papers can be sent prior to that date.
“Your letter should have been sent before” .... November 1. Generally meaning, the office needed to receive your letter BEFORE the date, not BY the date.
Does this makes sense to you?
Jan
I'm happy if some one explain or correct the sentences.
Example sentence
The application should have been mailed before yesterday.
Q1, Does the day mean the day some one posted a letter? or the day when the letter arrive dat the office?
Q2, Though according to the explanation about Q1, what difference are there using by, or until instead of before ?
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It's generally not common usage to say 'before yesterday' except in the phrase 'the day before yesterday', so I would guess that the sentence "The application should have been mailed before yesterday.' was written by a non-native speaker. If that is the case, it is possible that they meant to write something else.
That being said, "mailed" is the day that someone puts the letter/package into the mailbox or gives it to the post office.
"The application should have been mailed by " will generally be followed by a date rather than 'yesterday'. So, a common usage would be "The application should have been mailed by October 9th." "By" is a correct, native usage, and "before" sounds a little strange to me. Hope that helps!
Thanks Jan. You always help me. You wrote that the papers can be sent prior to that day. Actually , the translation in Japanese is actually what you wrote.
Mr, Daniel (right?)
Thanks for your comments. The text book is basically edited by some Japanese though some natives are involved. The Japanese word "madeni " is used In the Japanese translation. The Japanese word " madeni" is very vague. So, I got complicated. Thanks for putting your comments.
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