Question In those days VS at that time

hirashin

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8 Apr 2004

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• 30 Sep 2018

• #1

Hello, native English speakers,
Would (a) and (b) have a different meaning?

(a) In those days, I used this guitar.
(b) At that time, I used this guitar.

Hirashin

 

mdchachi

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• 30 Sep 2018

• #2

It could mean the same but in general (a) refers to a time period and (b) could refer to a (short) time period or a point in time.

 

hirashin

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• #3

Thanks for the help, mdchachi.

 

Buntaro

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• 30 Sep 2018

• #4

hirashin said:

(a) In those days, I used this guitar.
(b) At that time, I used this guitar.

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Hirashin,

It may help to use direct translations:

(a) In those days… = その日…
(b) At that time… = その時…

Both (a) and (b) can be translated as その時代…, but I think その時代… is better used as a translation for "in those days…".

The example (b) can also be used for a very short period of time. For example, "at that time…" can be used for "on that morning..." or "on the way to school that day..." or "during class on Thursday..."

 

Last edited: 30 Sep 2018

hirashin

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• #5

Thanks, Buntaro. The point I wanted to ask about is whether you can use "at that time" for a longer time period, not a point in time.

 

Buntaro

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• #6

Yes, you can. Would you like some examples?

 

mdchachi

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Here's a very long time period example.

Dinosaurs ruled the Earth during the Cretaceous Period. At that time, flying reptiles called pterosaurs were prevalent.

 

hirashin

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Thanks for the good example, mdchachi. Are you familiar with dinosaurs?

 

mdchachi

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hirashin said:

Thanks for the good example, mdchachi. Are you familiar with dinosaurs?

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No. But I used Google to learn the above-mentioned fact about pterosaurs. ;-)