Apr 5, 2003 14:52
21 yrs ago
English term
United States
Go with the Pro (also an Agronomist)
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian) 
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, Spanish to Portuguese
in a day
English
Science
sampling freq�ency
Hello, ProZ.
I have this sentence and I'm not sure about the correct use of the article (definite or indefinite):
Collections were done at every 4 hours, and on each day the collection time was delayed by 1 hour; therefore, by the end of the fourth day one collection had been taken at each one of the 24 hours ***in the day***.
in the day?
in a day?
of a day?
meaning, in the 4-day period, there was at least one sample available for each of the 24 hours there are in a day.
TIA
I have this sentence and I'm not sure about the correct use of the article (definite or indefinite):
Collections were done at every 4 hours, and on each day the collection time was delayed by 1 hour; therefore, by the end of the fourth day one collection had been taken at each one of the 24 hours ***in the day***.
in the day?
in a day?
of a day?
meaning, in the 4-day period, there was at least one sample available for each of the 24 hours there are in a day.
TIA
Responses
| 5 -1 | per day |
Fuad Yahya
|
| 5 | at each of the 24 hours of a day |
ntouzet (X)
|
| 5 | once every 24 hours |
Holly Hart
|
| 4 | in each 24-hour period |
Derek Smith
|
| 4 | a rewording |
J. Leo (X)
|
| 3 | My rewording |
Empty Whiskey Glass
|
Responses
-1
7 mins
Selected
per day
There are several issues with the sentence. Try this:
Collections were made every 4 hours. The collection time was delayed by 1 hour each day; therefore, by the end of the fourth day, one collection was made every 24 hours, i.e., one collection per day.
Since I do not know what kind of collection we are referring to, I am reluctant to suggest a specific verb to use, but, prima facie, I would not use "do." I would suggest "make" or "take," depending on the kind of collection, and I would suggest using the same verb for consistency.
Fuad
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Note added at 2003-04-05 15:26:54 (GMT)
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David\'s comment has just given me the right kick in the right spot to wake up. Here is my revised wording:
Collections were made every 4 hours. The collection time was delayed by 1 hour each day; therefore, by the end of the fourth day, one collection was made each hour of the 24 hours in a day.
I am not committing to any preposition before the word \"hour\" in the last phrase, because I do not know if they mean every hour on the hour or just every hour. If the former, you can use \"at;\" if the latter, you can use \"in\" or \"within,\" but I would just as well leave it without a preposition.
Thank you, David.
Collections were made every 4 hours. The collection time was delayed by 1 hour each day; therefore, by the end of the fourth day, one collection was made every 24 hours, i.e., one collection per day.
Since I do not know what kind of collection we are referring to, I am reluctant to suggest a specific verb to use, but, prima facie, I would not use "do." I would suggest "make" or "take," depending on the kind of collection, and I would suggest using the same verb for consistency.
Fuad
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Note added at 2003-04-05 15:26:54 (GMT)
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David\'s comment has just given me the right kick in the right spot to wake up. Here is my revised wording:
Collections were made every 4 hours. The collection time was delayed by 1 hour each day; therefore, by the end of the fourth day, one collection was made each hour of the 24 hours in a day.
I am not committing to any preposition before the word \"hour\" in the last phrase, because I do not know if they mean every hour on the hour or just every hour. If the former, you can use \"at;\" if the latter, you can use \"in\" or \"within,\" but I would just as well leave it without a preposition.
Thank you, David.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you all for your suggestions; Fuad finally put it quite clear after David's remarks.
Keep up."
3 mins
at each of the 24 hours of a day
a day has 24 hours.
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Note added at 2003-04-05 14:57:25 (GMT)
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but I would put it differently:
by the end of Day 4, data had been sampled on each hour of a 24-day period.
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Note added at 2003-04-05 14:57:47 (GMT)
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sorry, 24-hour period. Obviously.
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Note added at 2003-04-05 14:57:25 (GMT)
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but I would put it differently:
by the end of Day 4, data had been sampled on each hour of a 24-day period.
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Note added at 2003-04-05 14:57:47 (GMT)
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sorry, 24-hour period. Obviously.
8 mins
Derek Smith
Native in English
&
English
A beverages specialist
Native in: English
Works in: Italian to English, English, English to Italian
Related KudoZ points
:
32
in each 24-hour period
Hello Henrique
I would change the phrase as above. It is, I think, widely recognised that "24-hour period" is a more precise way of refering to a "day" as it is construed in your context, in which the word "day" is too colloquial imo.
Best regards
Derek
I would change the phrase as above. It is, I think, widely recognised that "24-hour period" is a more precise way of refering to a "day" as it is construed in your context, in which the word "day" is too colloquial imo.
Best regards
Derek
37 mins
a rewording
To assure that one collection was taken during each of the 24 hours of a day, a 4-day collection cycle was designed whereby collections were taken at 4-hour intervals staggered by one hour at each of the 4 collection days.
3 hrs
Empty Whiskey Glass
Your language solution
Native in: Bulgarian
Works in: Bulgarian, English to Bulgarian, Russian to Bulgarian, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
61
My rewording
Collections were done at every 4 hours, and on each day the collection time was delayed by 1 hour; therefore, by the end of the fourth day one collections had been taken at all hours in a day.
5 hrs
Holly Hart
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
United States
Professional experience
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK, US, Canadian) 
Works in: German to English, English, English to German
Related KudoZ points
:
4
once every 24 hours
Collections were done every 4 hours and each day, the collection time was delayed by one hour; consequently, by the time 4 days had passed, sampling was being done once every 24 hours.
Explanation:
If collections are being done every 4 hours, that means 6 collections are being done per day. If those 6 collections are delayed by 1 hour each time a collection is taken, the collections will be taken 6 hours later every day. By the time 4 days roll around, at the pace of 6 hours delay per day, samples are only being taken once every 24 hours! (6x4=24)
This is what I can gather from the info provided, however, it would be much better to have the original text in order to be sure that the translation is indeed correct. I really think you need to confirm the translation before you worry about the prepositions, although I agree with Fuad that there are other serious problems with prepositions in this passage - especially 'collections were done AT every 4 hours.' (incorrect)
Explanation:
If collections are being done every 4 hours, that means 6 collections are being done per day. If those 6 collections are delayed by 1 hour each time a collection is taken, the collections will be taken 6 hours later every day. By the time 4 days roll around, at the pace of 6 hours delay per day, samples are only being taken once every 24 hours! (6x4=24)
This is what I can gather from the info provided, however, it would be much better to have the original text in order to be sure that the translation is indeed correct. I really think you need to confirm the translation before you worry about the prepositions, although I agree with Fuad that there are other serious problems with prepositions in this passage - especially 'collections were done AT every 4 hours.' (incorrect)
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