On/in with time

[Kontol]

Here's a match report between Rangers vs Liverpool on Skysports. Why is "on" used rather than "in" in this sentence? What's the difference?

Firmino got his second to give Liverpool the lead on 55 minutes before the Brazilian's flick set up Darwin Nunez to net his second goal in as many games. Salah then took over, scoring the first of his three goals on 75 minutes and securing the match ball with two more ruthless finishes against the hapless Rangers defence.

 

[jutfrank]

on 55 minutes

This phrase refers to the minute that the goal was scored.

Why is "on" used rather than "in" in this sentence?

Because 'on' is correct and 'in' is incorrect. (Not a good question, Kontol.)

What's the difference?

The most important difference is that 'on' is correct and 'in' is incorrect.

 

[Kontol]

The most important difference is that 'on' is correct and 'in' is incorrect.

Here's an example of the use "in" from Daily Mail, QPR vs Man Utd.

Lyndon Dykes fired Mark Warburton's side ahead in the 52nd minute and right wing-back Moses Odubajo struck from long range six minutes later.

Is the "in" incorrect here?

 

[Rover_KE]

No. It's not the same construction as on 55 minutes. It means during the 52nd minute.

 

[jutfrank]

Lyndon Dykes fired Mark Warburton's side ahead in the 52nd minute and right wing-back Moses Odubajo struck from long range six minutes later.

Is the "in" incorrect here?

Yes, in that context, 'in' is the correct preposition and 'on' is incorrect.

 

[Kontol]

Yes, in that context, 'in' is the correct preposition and 'on' is incorrect.

This is confusing. Can you explain in what situation they are both used correctly?

 

[jutfrank]

The difference is in the meaning. With prepositions, difference in meaning is difference in the way temporal-spatial schemes are represented in the mind.

in the 55th minute

Here, the noun phrase the 55th minute is represented as a container. This means that it has a beginning and an end. You can imagine the beginning as the point in time 54:00 and the end as the point in time 55:00. The goal was scored somewhere inside this period of time.

on 55 minutes

Here, the noun phrase 55 minutes is represented (firstly) as a target object. You can think of 55 minutes as similar to a physical mark to be hit. Using a similar example to help you imagine this more easily, think of a javelin competition, where the field is marked with various lines. The javelin may land on the 50m mark, or on the 55m mark, or on the 60m mark, etc.

Both of these spatial representations are then extended by metaphor to describe time.

If you don't understand this, don't worry about it.

In terms of context, both schemes may be used, the following two expressions having the same pragmatic meaning:

Salah scored on 55 minutes.
Salah scored in the 55th minute.

 

[SoothingDave]

If it's any consolation, to my American ears, "on" sounds funny. I would say "at 55 minutes."

 

[jutfrank]

If it's any consolation, to my American ears, "on" sounds funny. I would say "at 55 minutes."

Interesting. I don't know if this use of 'on' is more of a British thing or specifically a football thing, but it's pretty common.

 

[SoothingDave]

In American football, the clock counts down. So we'd say someone scored with 5 minutes left in the quarter/half/game.

In ice hockey, the timer also counts down (20 minutes per period), but official scores are the other way. If you scored with 3:30 left in the first period, it would be said that the goal happened at 16:30 of the first period.