# Q for British people: "at the weekend"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390 "2006-07-06T16:49:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/1 "2006-07-06T16:49:15Z")
Do you actually use this phrase? It was in one of my textbooks (I’m an English teacher, and my books use British English), and I’m baffled. I don’t think I have ever heard/read this. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/2 "2006-07-06T16:56:42Z")
[QUOTE=Kyla] Do you actually use this phrase? It was in one of my textbooks (I’m an English teacher, and my books use British English), and I’m baffled. I don’t think I have ever heard/read this. [/QUOTE] Yes. It had never occurred to me that it might be peculiarly British until you asked the question, but a quickle Google [shows that it is](http://esl.about.com/library/beginner/bleasypreps.htm). I have never said “on the weekend”, assuming that is what you would say. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/3 "2006-07-06T16:57:06Z")
Of course we do. The weekend means Saturday and Sunday. Most people work Mon-Fri, so Sat and Sun are the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/4 "2006-07-06T16:58:47Z")
I’m Australian, and I’d only say it at the weekend. During the week, I prefer not to think about those things. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/5 "2006-07-06T17:03:00Z")
I’m aware of what the weekend is. It sounds weird to an American to say “at the” instead of “on the”, though. Anyway, SUPER. I know I’m going to screw this up and confuse the kids. And prepositions are already going to be a major pain in the ass. (Bulgarian prepositions are wildly different from those in English.) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/6 "2006-07-06T19:34:38Z")
It can mean both the forthcoming or previous weekend…_‘What did you do at the weekend?’_…_I’m going to visit the parents at the weekend_’. I suppose there’s no real consistency…we do things _on_ a bank holiday, but _in_ the summer holidays, and _at_ any ordinary weekend, but _during_ Easter Weekend. Have fun 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/7 "2006-07-06T19:46:13Z")
We might also talk about going getting something done _over_ the weekend, but I’d also never say “on the weekend”. It sounds horribly unnatural to my ears. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/8 "2006-07-06T19:49:28Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] We might also talk about going getting something done _over_ the weekend [/QUOTE] This to me sounds like something that takes up the whole two days: “I might have a barbeque at the weekend” “I’ll be decorating the spare bedroom over the weekend” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/9 "2006-07-06T19:53:09Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] This to me sounds like something that takes up the whole two days: “I might have a barbeque at the weekend” “I’ll be decorating the spare bedroom over the weekend” [/QUOTE] Precisely. But still never “on” the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/10 "2006-07-06T19:58:50Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Precisely. But still never “on” the weekend. [/QUOTE] No, agreed, this is about the only option that just sounds wrong 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/11 "2006-07-06T20:52:20Z")
Does anyone but the British use _week_ to mean the day in the next week, e.g. “Friday _week_”, meaning not this coming Friday but the next one? ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/12 "2006-07-06T21:26:50Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] Does anyone but the British use _week_ to mean the day in the next week, e.g. “Friday _week_”, meaning not this coming Friday but the next one? [/QUOTE] I can’t speak for the rest of the Anglosphere, but I think I can promise you nearly complete bafflement if you were to use that phrase over here. It could even be taken to mean “Friday of **this** week”, the opposite of what’s intended. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/13 "2006-07-06T21:37:51Z")
[QUOTE=Bytegeist] [QUOTE=Szlater] Does anyone but the British use week to mean the day in the next week, e.g. “Friday week”, meaning not this coming Friday but the next one? [/QUOTE] I can’t speak for the rest of the Anglosphere, but I think I can promise you nearly complete bafflement if you were to use that phrase over here. It could even be taken to mean “Friday of **this** week”, the opposite of what’s intended. [/QUOTE] It is very common in the southern United States, at least the three I’ve lived in (Alabama, Florida and Georgia); however, “on the weekend” is not. One might say, “What did you do over the weekend?” or “This past weekend we went fishing” or “what do you have going for this weekend?” I’ve never heard “what are you doing on the weekend?” or “On the weekend, we’re going to see a movie.” or the like. In fact, I would be surprised to see it pulled from a US pop culture reference, say a TV show or movie. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/14 "2006-07-06T21:43:00Z")
I just realized that the phrase “on the weekend” was introduced into this thread by **amarone** and not the OP. **amarone** , are you saying you’ve heard or used “at the weekend”? If so, are you British? Do you hear it in the US (your location is the same as mine)? Where did “on the weekend” come from? Have you heard someone use that (anywhere)? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/15 "2006-07-06T21:48:43Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] Does anyone but the British use _week_ to mean the day in the next week, e.g. “Friday _week_”, meaning not this coming Friday but the next one? [/QUOTE] An alternative is “a week on Friday” . That’s what I and most of the people I know say. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/16 "2006-07-06T21:50:06Z")
Northern-American here: I would never use it to describe an activity taking place one exact weekend. I have no problem using it thusly to specify a weekday (“On Wednesday, the server will go down,”) nor would I have a problem describing a habitual (“On weekends, I like to watch football”). But if I were to inform you that I plan on watching football when the weekend comes, I’d never say “On the weekend, I’m gonna watch football”. It just seems vaguely foreign to me. I’d say “Over the weekend”, or “This weekend”. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/17 "2006-07-06T22:16:13Z")
I’m British, and I have to say this is the very first time it’s even occurred to me that “at the weekend” might not be standard English everywhere. Everyone here uses it. “On the weekend”, on the other hand, just sounds wrong. Don’t ask me why, I don’t have any justification for it, but it just sounds like a foreigner’s mistake. “Over the weekend”, that’s OK. “This weekend”, likewise. But not “on the weekend”, even though we’d quite happily say “on Saturday”. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/18 "2006-07-06T22:24:48Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] Does anyone but the British use _week_ to mean the day in the next week, e.g. “Friday _week_”, meaning not this coming Friday but the next one? [/QUOTE] I’m Australian and we use that expression. But we tend to say ‘on the weekend’ rather than ‘at the weekend’. We’re a strange hybrid down here. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/19 "2006-07-06T22:27:50Z")
I’ll confess to being confused the first time I heard people talking about it, I imagined ‘Monday Week’ was some sort of weird notation referring to a whole week, somewhere in the calendar, followed by another whole week called ‘Tuesday Week’ and so on. In my defence, I was only six years old. It’s now (of course) completely natural; ‘Monday’ means the next occurrence of Monday; 'monday week means the Monday following it. I’ve even heard people say ‘Monday fortnight’, and be understood. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390/20 "2006-07-06T22:40:24Z")
Do the British say “On Monday,” “On Tuesday” and so on? -Kris (My wife once had a boss who would say “On tomorrow” and “On yesterday.” Neither of us had heard that one before.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-british-people-at-the-weekend/363390.md?page=2)