running in the night -> the same problem again! :(

[thx0110]

Hi, I had a problem with at night/in the night a couple of weeks ago.

You suggested to me that "at night" is good and "in the night" is bad.

However, this guy thinks "in the night" is OK.

He used the form "Running in the night".

I think it should be "running at night" or "running through the night" and not "running in the night". Or am I wrong?

Here it is the link ->
Neon Workout Ft. HR - Running In The Night
YouTube - Neon Workout Ft. HR - Running In The Night

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi, I had a problem with at night/in the night a couple of weeks ago.

You suggested to me that "at night" is good and "in the night" is bad.

However, this guy thinks "in the night" is OK.

He used the form "Running in the night".

I think it should be "running at night" or "running through the night" and not "running in the night". Or am I wrong?

Here it is the link ->
Neon Workout Ft. HR - Running In The Night
YouTube - Neon Workout Ft. HR - Running In The Night

This is a music track, you can't learn grammar from popular music.

 

[euncu]

I couldn't watch the clip, but maybe it might be another way of saying in the dark.

 

[rlfwood]

I wouldn't object categorically to "in the night", but its use is usually somewhat poetic or dramatic ("things that go bump in the night") and, in my experience, tends to be misused by learners of English.

To me, "running in the night" sounds more dramatic than "running at night". I suppose that "running through the night" carries some of that same emotional tone.

 

[thx0110]

I wouldn't object categorically to "in the night", but its use is usually somewhat poetic or dramatic ("things that go bump in the night") and, in my experience, tends to be misused by learners of English.

To me, "running in the night" sounds more dramatic than "running at night". I suppose that "running through the night" carries some of that same emotional tone.

To me it sounds more dramatical too, but people on this forum say it is not grammatically correct.

So, is "in the night" wrong or just unusual?

 

[rlfwood]

To me it sounds more dramatical too, but people on this forum say it is not grammatically correct.

So, is "in the night" wrong or just unusual?

Just unusual.

I had for a long time ceased to read the newspapers or pay any attention to public affairs, confident they were in good hands, and content to be a passenger in our bark to the shore from which I am not distant. but this momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. -Thomas Jefferson

 

[Tdol]

To me it sounds more dramatical too, but people on this forum say it is not grammatically correct.

So, is "in the night" wrong or just unusual?

There are always going to be differences of opinion about prepositions. You will find examples of 'in the night', but they're not the norm. What was the context?

 

[thx0110]

There are always going to be differences of opinion about prepositions. You will find examples of 'in the night', but they're not the norm. What was the context?

E.g.

"We were running in the night with the murderer, but we didn't know that at all."

or

"Me/I and my girlfriend were sightseeing in the night if you know what I mean."

Are these sentences correct? Especially the use of "in the night".

 

[thx0110]

Anybody?

 

[rlfwood]

E.g.

"We were running in the night with the murderer, but we didn't know that at all."

or

"Me/I and my girlfriend were sightseeing in the night if you know what I mean."

Are these sentences correct? Especially the use of "in the night".

I must confess that neither of those sentences really makes sense to me.

Perhaps some of the confusion we're having on this one stems from the fact that one of the definitions of "night" is "the darkness of night; the dark" (from dictionary.reference.com). Using that definition, the prepositions seem to be unobjectionable; i.e., "in the night" means "in the darkness of night", or "in the dark", and so on.

In your first sentence, I'm not sure what "running with the murderer" means. Is he running alongside of us, but we don't know that he's the murderer? Or is he running somewhere else nearby, but we don't know that? In either event, "running through the night" (i.e., through the darkness) seems to make more sense than "in".

In the second sentence, which should begin "My girlfriend and I were sightseeing...", I guess I don't know what you mean. In the dark? At night? Either of those might be better choices than "in the night".

 

[thx0110]

I must confess that neither of those sentences really makes sense to me.

Perhaps some of the confusion we're having on this one stems from the fact that one of the definitions of "night" is "the darkness of night; the dark" (from dictionary.reference.com). Using that definition, the prepositions seem to be unobjectionable; i.e., "in the night" means "in the darkness of night", or "in the dark", and so on.

In your first sentence, I'm not sure what "running with the murderer" means. Is he running alongside of us, but we don't know that he's the murderer? Or is he running somewhere else nearby, but we don't know that? In either event, "running through the night" (i.e., through the darkness) seems to make more sense than "in".

In the second sentence, which should begin "My girlfriend and I were sightseeing...", I guess I don't know what you mean. In the dark? At night? Either of those might be better choices than "in the night".

Oh my god !

It's not important if he is running alongside or we didn't know about his presence in the forest until now. I am just asking, if it's grammatically correct or not .

Are you trying to say that all sentences in English are straightforward and have just one meaning?



Now to the second sentence:

Why can it be not like this?

"I and my girlfriend were sightseeing (which covers up doing adult things such as copulating and so on ) in the night. (night as the darkness of night)"

instead of yours... as you suggest:


"My girlfriend and I were sightseeing (which covers up doing adult things such as copulating and so on ) in the night. (night as the darkness of night)"

In my personal opinion it is the same. So why is "I and my girlfriend were..." grammatically wrong?

Thanks in advance.

 

[thx0110]

Anybody?

 

[thx0110]

Why can it be not like this?

"I and my girlfriend were sightseeing (which covers up doing adult things such as copulating and so on ) in the night. (night as the darkness of night)"

instead of yours... as you suggest:


"My girlfriend and I were sightseeing (which covers up doing adult things such as copulating and so on ) in the night. (night as the darkness of night)"

In my personal opinion it is the same. So why is "I and my girlfriend were..." grammatically wrong?

Thanks in advance.

 

[thx0110]

Still nothing new?

 

[Linguist__]

Still nothing new?

It's not grammatically wrong to say 'I and my girlfriend', it's just not common in English. It's more polite to put other people before yourself.