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I have a question. What does this phrase mean "I'll be home by ten", because it is confusing, especially when used with "at" instead of "by". When it comes to sentence stress which words should I stress more?

Zoltan King
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  • by here means no later than. By the time it's 10:00, I'll be home. At means at. When it's 10:00 I'll be home. Stress the words that are important to the meaning you wish to convey. Any of the words in those sentences could be stressed depending on the meaning you want. This must be a duplicate question. – Jim Feb 16 '15 at 21:12
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    Related: “At” vs “by” in time-expressions on English Language Learners (where this should be asked). – FumbleFingers Feb 16 '15 at 21:13
  • I thought only the "home" and "ten" are stressed because they are content words. Stressing the preposition "by" or "at" doesn't make sense to me, and "be" is the copula I think. What meaning I want, well I just want to tell someone I'll be home by 10 and just that. What other meanings can it have? – Zoltan King Feb 16 '15 at 21:14
  • When you're negotiating with your teenager it doesn't make much difference -- either will be ignored. But "at ten" might (or might not) be taken to imply neither before or after but rather (within a small delta) at that specific time. Whereas "by ten" implies before or at that time. – Hot Licks Feb 16 '15 at 21:17
  • Also in English Language Learners: http://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/23529/something-will-be-available-by-some-time/23537#23537 – Jim Feb 16 '15 at 21:19
  • Okay, now I understand. Thanks! But I don't know what you mean "depending on the meaning you want". Isn't the content words the most important to emphasize? When I just want to inform someone: I'll be home by ten. Isn't "home" and "ten" are the stressed words? – Zoltan King Feb 16 '15 at 21:21
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    If you want to stress "where" you'll be (at home or at the office) you can stress home. If you want to stress that you'll be home at 10 not 11 then stress 10. If you want to stress that you will be home at 10 (as opposed to your brother who is always late) stress I'll. If you wish to stress that this time you'll make it on time (because in the past you haven't) stress be. And if you want to stress that you'll be home at ten (and not a minute before) stress at. – Jim Feb 16 '15 at 21:23
  • I just want to communicate I'll be home by 10 with no special meaning. I just want the listener to know the time when to expect me to arrive. In this case I only stress ten? – Zoltan King Feb 16 '15 at 21:31
  • If you simply want to communicate when you will be home, and no lawyers (or teenage lawyers-in-training) are involved, either "at" or "by" is perfectly sufficient. Both will be understood similarly. – Hot Licks Feb 16 '15 at 21:35
  • Here is an audio, cut out from an American TV series: https://clyp.it/afc2n3ky A girl leaves home, kisses her mother and say: "I'll be home by ten". For me sounds like both "home" and "by" are stressed. – Zoltan King Feb 16 '15 at 21:47
  • I agree that the "by vs. at" question has been asked and answered multiple times, but none of those answers address the issue of stress. Zoltán, talán írj egy új kérdést csak a hangsulyról az English Language Learners oldalon. (Akik anyanyelvi szinten tudnak angolul, azoknak fel se merül a hangsuly kérdés, azért ajánlanám a tanulóknak való oldalt.) A másik fele egyszerű: by ten = tízre, at ten = tízkor. – Marthaª Feb 17 '15 at 02:36
  • I think folks from other backgrounds tend to overstress the significance of stress in English. Yes, it is significant in many cases, but in the case of "I'll be home by/at ten" the thing could be said in a perfect monotone with no loss of meaning. – Hot Licks Feb 17 '15 at 02:40

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"By ten" refers to the end point of an interval of time. The perfect aspect in English also refers to the end point of an interval of time, during which some event of interest takes place. So "by " and the perfect aspect are often associated. "By ten I will have been drinking for hours", means that the hours-long interval of time during which I am drinking will end at ten (but doesn't mean that I stop drinking then). In that example, the endpoint of the interval lies in the future, but it could be the present ("By now you must have heard about the English perfect about a million times"), or the past ("By last week I had spent all my money on beer").

Greg Lee
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