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in two weeks/ weeks' or week's time?

K

kasik

New Member
polish
hi there
can someone tell me what expression I should use

in two weeks/ weeks' or week's time?

Thank you
 
    • ok thank you:) but I dont't undersand why the apostrophe is used
    In two weeks' time:confused:
     
    That's interesting. I was always under the impression that ... 's or ...s' translated to "is " (or are) Adding an "S" without an apostrophe makes it plural.

    I guess what I mean isI would have thought in two weeks time" would have been correct.

    Vicky
     
    tigerduck said:
    Re: in two weeks/weeks' time/weeks time
    Thank you for your answers.

    Funnyin my book (Handbuch des englischen Sprachgebrauchs - it is mainly written in German) it says with a plural construction you can use it with or without the apostroph (examples from the book):

    In five minutes/minutes' time (days/days')

    In singular constructions the apostroph is necessary (again examples from the book):

    In a week's/month's/year's time
    Click to expand...
    Source

    The above is a quote from someone else's thread.
     
    It is the possessive form of 's.
    The weeks hold the time.
    The time belonging to the two weeks.

    I'm not 100% positivebut I think that German text is wrong.
     
    vicky1027 said:
    That's interesting. I was always under the impression that ... 's or ...s' translated to "is " (or are) Adding an "S" without an apostrophe makes it plural.
    Click to expand...

    It wouldn't be "he's wasting Lindas time." It's "he's wasting Linda's time."

    The "'s" is a contraction of "is" in things like "it'sthere'she's".
     
    If in doubtcheck some reference sites.

    HERE for BE.

    HERE for AE.

    They agree - one week's timetwo weeks' time.

    Both sources are listed in the sticky thread at the top of this forum.

    For more general discussion about apostrophes and possessivesplease look up possessive in the WR dictionary.
     
    Last edited:
    I thought we were being asked where the apostrophe wentnot whether it was mandatory.

    I think we need to have itbecause we say in one week's time - never in one week time. This means we need the possessive apostrophe for two weeks too - i.e. two weeks' time.
     
    the correct form is "in two weeks' time " because that's a possessive one. Soas far as I knowit's " s' ".
    concerning kasik's question I'd like to get an explanation for that if anyone can help
     
    Fascinating discussionbut why even use the word time in the expression? Wouldn't in two weeks convey the meaning? Can week(s) be anything but time?
     
    I see what you meanSwissPete. Butadding the word time is very common. It kind of adds emphasis to the discussion. It is also something that we are more likely to hear in a professional setting as well. Butit is used very often in all topics of discussion. I guess it also depends on the person doing the talking.
     
    SwissPete said:
    Fascinating discussionbut why even use the word time in the expression? Wouldn't in two weeks convey the meaning? Can week(s) be anything but time?
    Click to expand...

    I realise this is a very old thread but had to respond...

    There is a world of difference. If I say "I will complete the task in 2 weeks" I could be saying that the task will take 2 weeks (and I could schedule it to be completed in a year's time). On the other hand if I say "I will complete the task in 2 weeks' time" the task itself may take only one hourbut I am committing to have it done two weeks from now. So the meanings are entirely different.
     
    If I were to say“I’m going to Ted’s house” I could also say“I’m going to Ted’s.” Right?
    So does that mean I could also say“I’ll do it in 2 weeks’ “ meaningof coursethat I’ll do it in 2 weeks’ time.
     
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