it was not yet two in the morning

[GUEST2008]

Hi

Two guys were hitchhiking. Though it was not yet two in the morning they did get lucky and rode into the town in the back of a pickup truck.

Is the author of this sentence trying to say that although it wasn't so late yet, nevertheless they were very lucky that anybody stopped and gave them a lift?

 

[lauralie2]

It sounds like that to me too, but why the author chose 2 am is an oddity to me.

 

[5jj]

The use of not yet suggests to me that the writer considers it was very early in the day - too early to expect traffic. Two in the morning simply happens to be the time the writer chose for these people to set off on their journey.

 

[lauralie2]

Ooh, now that makes sense to me. Thanks.

 

[GUEST2008]

The use of not yet suggests to me that the writer considers it was very early in the day - too early to expect traffic. Two in the morning simply happens to be the time the writer chose for these people to set off on their journey.

I would write "barely" not "not yet".

Though it was barely two am they were lucky ...

Don't you think so?

 

[5jj]

I would write "barely" not "not yet".

Though it was barely two am they were lucky ...

Don't you think so?

There's a difference. 'Not yet' means that the time was before two.

'Barely' means that it was between a few seconds before and a few seconds after two

 

[RonBee]

Hi

Two guys were hitchhiking. Though it was not yet two in the morning they did get lucky and rode into the town in the back of a pickup truck.

Is the author of this sentence trying to say that although it wasn't so late yet, nevertheless they were very lucky that anybody stopped and gave them a lift?

The word "yet" seems an odd choice to me. Perhaps:
.

Though it was not quite two in the morning, they did get lucky and rode into the town in the back of a pickup truck.
​

.
The meaning of the sentence is that because it was so early in the morning and that not much traffic can be expected at that time of day that they were lucky that anybody stopped and picked them up.

 

[GUEST2008]

Wouldn't it be better to write:

Because it was close to two in the morning, they were lucky that ...

If this is what the author wanted to say, then I get it.

However: Though it was not yet ... or even "not quite" are strange choices to me.

 

[5jj]

I don't think it's a question of 'better', but personal choice;

Guest likes 'barely - which has a slightly different meaning, or 'close to' which is slightly different again.

Ron prefers 'not quite' - moderately similar in meaning to 'close to'.

Ron doesn't like 'not yet', but I am happy with it.

They are all acceptable. It depends on what exactly the writer wishes to say and, if two expressions are close in meaning, which the writer prefers personally.