Set in the time of the Mongols/ Hollywood.

[Ashraful Haque]

I was talking about two games. One was about the Mongol empire and the other one was about a future where robots and machines have taken over the humans. I said:
"It's set in the past and the other one's set in the future."

I've looked up 'set in' and this is the meaning I found:
"To establish some time or place as the setting of a story, play, or film. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "set" and "in."

1) Was my sentence correct? And can we use any time reference with 'set in?' For example:
- Set in winter/summer
- Set in the time of the Mongols/ Genghis khan.

2) Can we also use it for locations? For example:
- Where was Forrest Gump set in?
- GTA (an infamous game) was set in New York.

 

[teechar]

I was talking about two games. One was about the Mongol Empire and the other one was about a future where robots and machines have taken over [ 1] the humans. I said:
"[STRIKE]It's[/STRIKE] One's set in the past, and the [ 2] other one's set in the future."

I've looked up 'set in' [ 3] and this is the meaning I found:
"To establish some time or place as the setting of a story, play, or film. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "set" and "in."

1- That's not natural. Say "taken over the world" or "taken over from humans".
2- You can also use "and the other's".
3- That website is not the best around. I would only use it as a last resort. In fact, the vocabulary in question here is "set" not "set in". It's not a phrasal verb. It's just that "in" is the natural preposition to use with that sense of the verb "set".

 

[emsr2d2]

The preposition entirely depends on the setting.

The film is set in New York.
The film is set in 1942.
The film is set on Mars.
The film is set under the sea.
The film is set on a bus.
The film is set around the Liverpool area.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

All your suggestions are OK except the question: Where was Forrest Gump set [STRIKE]in[/STRIKE]?
Drop the 'in' - 'Where?' means 'In what place?'.

I'm slightly confused. Why is "GTA was set in New York" correct and not "Where was Forrest Gump set in?"

 

[Ashraful Haque]

As I said, 'where' means 'in what place'.

Where was Forrest Gump set in" would mean "In what place was Forrest Gump set in.

I see. What about when I'm talking about time? Do I say "When was Forrest Gump set?"

 

[emsr2d2]

I see. What about when I'm talking about time? Do I say "When was Forrest Gump set?"

Yes. In the context of a question about a setting, "When" means "At what time/In what era".

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Yes. In the context of a question about a setting, "When" means "At what time/In what era".

Thank you so much as always. So when asking (Where/When was Forest Gump set?) the 'in' isn't necessary. But when answering we say "It was set in the 1950s/Alabama."

 

[GoesStation]

So when asking "Where/When was Forest Gump set?" the 'in' isn't necessary. But when answering we say "It was set in the 1950s/Alabama."

Correct.

Don't mark text with parentheses ("brackets" in British English). That's what quotation marks are for.