In this post, we are going to try to clarify a bit more the difference between the two prepositions –AT and SINCE– that eventually can be a little bit confusing in their use.
Let’s start with –AT-. The preposition –A– At, as we may know, expresses in the time sphere, the occurring time of some activity; this occurring time, normally is used as a occurring starting point of that specific activity but it can also express the ending occurring time of the activity.
What we are trying to say is that it is not used only to express a starting point, even if it is gonna be used in these firsts stages of our learning, only as a start point of an activity. Let’s see an example:
¿A QUÉ HORA ES LA CLASE?
AT WHAT TIME IS THE CLASS?
9:00 AM
LA CLASE ES A LAS NUEVE
THE CLASS IS AT THE NINE
→ It is clear, the occurring starting point of the class is at nine AM.
Now let’s express using the preposition –A-, the ending time of the Spanish class; for this expression we are gonna have to use the regular verb – To Finish-:
¿A QUÉ HORA TERMINA LA CLASE?
AT WHAT TIME DOES IT END THE CLASS?
9:00 AM
LA CLASE TERMINA A LAS NUEVE
THE CLASS FINISHES AT THE NINE
The preposition –DESDE– Since–, as we have told you, expresses in the time sphere, the starting time of any activity; This starting point in time, it will be only used to express in this time sphere, the beginning of that specific activity:
¿DESDE QUÉ HORA ES LA CLASE?
SINCE WHAT TIME IS THE CLASS?
9:00 AM
LA CLASE ES DESDE LAS NUEVE
THE CLASS IS SINCE THE NINE
◊ We hope that you have understood what we were trying to tell you and if there was a doubt, we have got rid of it. In next posts, we are going to keep seeing the prepositions -A, HASTA y DESDE- and check a very common mistake that happens when we are learning those prepositions and place them in our expression.
