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- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
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English (UK)
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Simplified Chinese (China)
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Japanese
Question about English (UK)
Is "at that time" only used when referring to a very specific time or date?
Can I use it to describe a moment or period in the past? (See the scenarios in the following)
1. At that time, my English was not good so I was scared when I needed to do a presentation in front of my class.
2. At that time, I was really angry because my friend was an hour late to our gathering.
3. I was staying at home alone one day a few months ago. There was not too much food in the refrigerator so I just fried an egg for my dinner at that time.
4. I have bought an expensive necklace before. At that time, it was a gift for my friend's wedding, so I thought I needed to buy something nice.
Is "at that time" only used when referring to a very specific time or date?
Can I use it to describe a moment or period in the past? (See the scenarios in the following)
1. At that time, my English was not good so I was scared when I needed to do a presentation in front of my class.
2. At that time, I was really angry because my friend was an hour late to our gathering.
3. I was staying at home alone one day a few months ago. There was not too much food in the refrigerator so I just fried an egg for my dinner at that time.
4. I have bought an expensive necklace before. At that time, it was a gift for my friend's wedding, so I thought I needed to buy something nice.
Can I use it to describe a moment or period in the past? (See the scenarios in the following)
1. At that time, my English was not good so I was scared when I needed to do a presentation in front of my class.
2. At that time, I was really angry because my friend was an hour late to our gathering.
3. I was staying at home alone one day a few months ago. There was not too much food in the refrigerator so I just fried an egg for my dinner at that time.
4. I have bought an expensive necklace before. At that time, it was a gift for my friend's wedding, so I thought I needed to buy something nice.
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- English (UK)
- Simplified Chinese (China)
1, 2 and 4 sound completely natural. For 2 however using "that time" is better.
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- English (UK)
- English (US)
@LioraKitsune for 3. I don’t think “that time” sounds natural either. You’ve already provided enough temporal information there, so I would just leave out “at that time”, and the sentence will sound perfectly natural
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- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
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