[Grammar] on the weekends/at the weekends

[Ferdie11]

Hi,

Are these phrases interchangeable?

1. over the weekends
2. at the weekends
3. during the weekends
4. on the weekends

Sample sentence: I love to read books on the weekends?

Many thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi,

Are these phrases interchangeable?

1. over the weekends
2. at the weekends
3. during the weekends
4. on the weekends

Sample sentence: I love to read books on the weekends?

Many thanks.

As far as at/on is concerned, I believe this is a BrE vs AmE difference.

BrE - I read books at the weekends
AmE - I read books on the weekends

 

[euncu]

BrE - I read books at the weekends
AmE - I read books on the weekends

Why is "the weekends" correct and "weekends" is not ? Aren't we referring to the weekends in general? Or would it about an exception for the use of "weekends"?

Thanks in advance for the reply.

 

[kfredson]

Why is "the weekends" correct and "weekends" is not ? Aren't we referring to the weekends in general? Or would it about an exception for the use of "weekends"?

Thanks in advance for the reply.

I believe you can say "on weekends" in AmE but "on the weekends" would be more common.

I would also like to thank emsr2d2 for sharing the difference between BrE and AmE when it comes to at/on.

As for the others, I would say that "during the weekends" and "over the weekends" imply activities that last for some time, such as golfing or playing in rugby matches. Reading the newspaper or doing the food shopping would tend to be shorter, I would think, and thus call for at/on. Reading books could go either way. I have younger students who certainly read books "during/over the weekends!"