Which one is correct?

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ESL forum > Ask for help > Which one is correct?

Which one is correct?

Which one is correct?

They go to the cinema at weekends?

or

They go to the cinema at the weekends?

... and...

is it more correct to write "weekend" or "weekends"?

Thank you in advance for your precious help Smile

Smile

28 Mar 2013

lizsantiago

Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions: Expression Example at night The stars shine at night. at the weekend* I don �t usually work at the weekend. at Christmas*/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas. at the same time We finished the test at the same time. at present He �s not home at present. Try later. British English: "At weekends" refers to weekends in general. "At the weekend" would refer to one specific weekend. In American English, you would use "on" instead of "at" to say the same thing.

28 Mar 2013

try to find the difference and rule between:

start a fire & start fires

at the weekend & at weekends

28 Mar 2013

Jayho

Hi Mourisca

Your question relates to the use of articles.

To make a general statement using countable nouns you could use:

Zero article + plural noun: They go to the cinema on weekends

or

Article + singular noun: They go to the cinema on the weekend

Many sources will teach you to not include the article (as in example 1), maybe for simplicity purposes, but it is frequently used for academic purposes.

One academic source I use with my students says:

Am I making a general statement here? If yes, then look at the options for making general statements. If unsure, the safest strategy may be to use a plural noun with no article. (�)

There is a reference here, rule 4 , that might help

Note: There is a SBE and SAE difference between on and at. In Australia we predominantly use "on" but "at" is understood.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Jayho

28 Mar 2013

You could also say � They �re going to the cinema at the weekend.

or �They are going to the cinema at the weekend �.

They went to the cinema at the weekend.

They are going to the cinema at the weekend.

They �re going to the cinema at the weekend.

29 Mar 2013