"Out of" vs "outside" of city

Question

I would like to know what would be the correct sentence here. I just want to say that I left the city on the weekend.

I went out of the city on Saturday.
I went outside the city on Saturday.

All three sentences are grammatically correct (although "out of" is a more dubious way of phrasing). How long did you leave the city for? — Andrew Leach, Jul 03 '12 at 13:28
I am asking because I know that "go out of" something means to lose an ability so I was not sure here.. — Pietro, Jul 03 '12 at 13:30
What? Never heard that usage. "Run out of" can mean "exhaust a supply of" -- running out of toilet paper is not a good experience. But "go out of"? +1 for @J.R.'s comment. — Andrew Leach, Jul 03 '12 at 13:34

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 03 '12 at 15:07

3

Your sentences are fine. As J.R. mentioned, it's better to say,

I left the city on Saturday.

Out of is better suited in situations like,

I am out of town right now, I will get back to you when I return.

Although outside the city is grammatically correct, it sounds a bit unorthodox in this context.

edited Jul 03 '12 at 15:07

answered Jul 03 '12 at 13:45

Noah

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

2

The colloquial way to say this would be as follows:

I went out of town this Saturday.

or

I left town this Saturday.

and to talk about going out of town in the future:

I'm going out of town this Saturday.

I'll be leaving town this Saturday.

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

answered Jul 03 '12 at 13:37

Alex W

I prefer 'I'll be out of town next Saturday'. (Absent, unavailable). – Barry Brown Jul 04 '12 at 06:52

2 Answers2