Slept throughout the class/ through the entire class.

[Ashraful Haque]

Someone told me that it's incorrect to say 'I slept throughout the entire class.' It should be either 'through the entire class' or 'throughout the class.' Even though the following clips tell a different story:
[video]https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/a9797693-cba4-46b2-b785-348e552cf4ef[/video]
[video]https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/af16ae9f-7e1f-4f33-9e52-58f532c17590[/video]

On my IELTS practice test I said the following:
"Its very hot and humid throughout most of the year." (most of the year since it's cold in the winter)

I'm not sure if 'throughout' and 'most' go well together. Please let me know if there's anything wrong with this sentence and whether what I learned (above) is correct.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Someone told me that it's incorrect to say 'I slept throughout the entire class.'

Someone is correct. It should be through.

It should be either 'through the entire class'

Yes.

or 'throughout the class,'

No.

even though the following clips tell a different story:
[video]https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/a9797693-cba4-46b2-b785-348e552cf4ef[/video]
[video]https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/af16ae9f-7e1f-4f33-9e52-58f532c17590[/video]

On my IELTS practice test I said the following:
"Its very hot and humid throughout most of the year." (most of the year since it's cold in the winter)

I'm not sure if 'throughout' and 'most' go well together.

They're fine together. You can also say "through most of the year."

Please let me know if there's anything wrong with this sentence and whether what I learned (above) is correct.

You can say:

- I slept through class.
- I slept through the class.
- I slept through the entire class.
- I slept through the whole class.

Throughout would be wrong. If you go from one end or side of something to the other, you go through it — not throughout it:

- The tunnel goes through the mountain.
- We've been through this argument a thousand times.

Do not use throughout when you mean through.

Use throughout to say that something is or isn't frequent or widespread:

- I had bad headaches throughout the year.
- Throughout her entire career, she never cheated a client.
- It could be smelled throughout the neighborhood.

In all those last three throughout examples, through can also be used. But throughout is better.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

PS - My wife pointed out that if you slept throughout the class, it means that you moved all around the classroom while you slept — not a likely situation!

 

[Raymott]

Unless you're a classy somnambulist.

 

[tedmc]

Unless you're a classy somnambulist.

Like Lady Macbeth.:-D

 

[Rover_KE]

Note that most British English speakers would use 'lesson' rather than 'class' in the above examples.

 

[emsr2d2]

If you slept from the beginning to the end of the lesson, you could use "through". If you intermittently dozed off and woke up again several times, you could use something like "I kept nodding off throughout the lesson". That demonstrates that it happened more than once between the beginning and end of the lesson.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

PS - My wife pointed out that if you slept throughout the class, it means that you moved all around the classroom while you slept — not a likely situation!

:lol: Okay. This made my day.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

You can say:

- I slept through class.
- I slept through the class.
- I slept through the entire class.
- I slept through the whole class.

Throughout would be wrong. If you go from one end or side of something to the other, you go through it — not throughout it:

- The tunnel goes through the mountain.
- We've been through this argument a thousand times.

Do not use throughout when you mean through.

Use throughout to say that something is or isn't frequent or widespread:

- I had bad headaches throughout the year.
- Throughout her entire career, she never cheated a client.
- It could be smelled throughout the neighborhood.

In all those last three throughout examples, through can also be used. But throughout is better.

Thanks for this amazing explanation. I think I get it.
Just to be sure here are some example sentences. Please let me know if any of them are incorrect.

Through
- The movie was so boring I just slept through it.
- He yawned through the performance.
- I was on my phone (through) the entire class. - I think this sentence works better without 'through.'

Throughout
- The coronavirus spread from China throughout the entire planet.
- There is a shortage of masks throughout the globe.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thanks for this amazing explanation. I think I get it.
Just to be sure here are some example sentences. Please let me know if any of them are incorrect.

Through
- The movie was so boring I just slept through it.
- He yawned through the performance.

Yes, you can use either there, but throughout would be a clearer. Through might suggest one long yawn.

It's like those last three examples I gave you. When in doubt, it's always safe to use through.

- I was on my phone (through) the entire class. - I think this sentence works better without 'through.'

Throughout
- The coronavirus spread from China throughout the entire planet.
- There is a shortage of masks throughout the globe.

Yes. You get it!

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Yes. You get it!

Thank you very much once again. I have a little confusions. You said:
"Throughout would be wrong. If you go from one end or side of something to the other, you go through it — not throughout it."
"Use throughout to say that something is or isn't frequent or widespread."

I think I heard a native speaker say:
"I feel fresh and energetic throughout the day."
I wonder why she said 'throughout' and not 'through.'

If this sentence is correct then do I say:
I've had a headache throughout/through the day.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thank you very much once again. I'm a little confused. You said:
"Throughout would be wrong. If you go from one end or side of something to the other, you go through it — not throughout it."
"Use throughout to say that something is or isn't frequent or widespread."

I think I heard a native speaker say:
"I feel fresh and energetic throughout the day."
I wonder why she said 'throughout' and not 'through.'

If this sentence is correct then do I say:
I've had a headache throughout/through the day.

I hope I haven't confused you!

Through usually means from beginning to end. So that might be the better choice.

But Throughout usually refers to many points. So, that makes sense, too. You did have a headache from the start of the day to the end. And you did have a headache at many points during the day.

Most natural would be, "I feel fresh and energetic all day" and "I've had a headache all day."

 

[Ashraful Haque]

I hope I haven't confused you!

Through usually means from beginning to end. So that might be the better choice.

But Throughout usually refers to many points. So, that makes sense, too. You did have a headache from the start of the day to the end. And you did have a headache at many points during the day.

Most natural would be, "I feel fresh and energetic all day" and "I've had a headache all day."

Thank you very much. I think now I get it. I didn't read post #7 carefully at first.

All the following would mean doing something from the beginning to the end without stopping in the middle.

"I slept through the class" -Didn't wake up at all until the end of the class.
"I feel fresh and energetic through the day" -Never feel tired until the end of the day.
"He stood there through the entire round" -Did nothing but stood there the whole time.

And these would mean doing something at many points several times during the time mentioned.

"We'll update you on this news story throughout the day." -Updates will be given several times throughout the day.
"He kept bothering me throughout the class." -He bothered me several time throughout the class.

Please tell me I get it.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you very much. I think now I get it. I didn't read post #7 carefully at first.

All the following would mean doing something from the beginning to the end without stopping in the middle.

"I slept through the class" - space here Didn't wake up at all until the end of the class. :tick:
"I feel fresh and energetic through the day" - space here Never feel tired until the end of the day. I understand why you chose "through" but it just isn't natural in this context. We'd say "all day".
"He stood there through the entire round" - space here Did nothing but stood there the whole time. :tick:

And these would mean doing something at many points several times during the time mentioned.

"We'll update you on this news story throughout the day." - space here Updates will be given several times throughout the day. :tick:
"He kept bothering me throughout the class." - space here He bothered me several time throughout the class. :tick:

Please tell me I get it.

See above. I would say you've pretty much got it.

Remember to put a space on both sides of a dash. With a hyphen, don't use any spaces around it.