in two weeks/weeks' time/weeks time (2025)

Hello

Is it correct that all the following constructions are possible and they all have the same meaning?

A) I'll see you in two weeks.
B) I'll see you in two weeks' time.
C) I'll see you in two weeks time.

Thank you.

tigerduck said:

Hello

Is it correct that all the following constructions are possible and they all have the same meaning?

A) I'll see you in two weeks.
B) I'll see you in two weeks' time.
C) I'll see you in two weeks time.

Thank you.

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A is correct.
B is correct.
C is incorrect.

Analyse it this way.
I will see you in one week's time. [we do not say "one

time"]
Thus
I'll see you in two weeks' time.

Thank you for your answers.

Funny, in my book (Handbuch des englischen Sprachgebrauchs - it is mainly written in German) it says with a plural construction you can use it with or without the apostroph (examples from the book):

In five minutes/minutes' time (days/days')

In singular constructions the apostroph is necessary (again examples from the book):

In a week's/month's/year's time

Hi,
I'd like to ask if 'for two weeks time' is also possible?
for example:

'They are going on holiday for two weeks time'

Thanks in advance

Pedro y La Torre said:

I'll see you in a fortnight. Problem solved.

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Thanks for the answer! The situation, however, is the following: in a test there is a gap-fill exercise and the sentence is:
"We are going ... a holiday .... two weeks time" and the prepositions to choose from are 'out, for, off, on, to, in'

Hello poljakovski - welcome to the forums

They are going on holiday in two weeks' time.
They are going on holiday out/for/off/on/to two weeks' time.

Hi poljakovski
We are going on holiday in two weeks' time means that your holiday doesn't start for another two weeks.

You could say: We are going on holiday for two weeks. (WITHOUT 'time') That would indicate how long the holiday will last.

my last question is: is it possible to drop the apostrophe after "weeks" for example
"We are going on holiday in two weeks time" ?

I'm afraid it's not only possible, but customary these days. However it's still not correct. It should be: in two weeks' time.

My answer is slightly different from kemoll's, in that I wouldn't say that it's customary to drop the apostrophe in two weeks' time. I'm coming across the version without apostrophe more often, though; and I have seen other authorities offer the same advice as in tigerduck's post 4. This may be something which is in the process of changing....

That said, my advice is the same as kemoll's: use the apostrophe in both the singular (one week's time) and the plural (two weeks' time). That way, you can't possibly annoy or offend anyone - whereas if you drop the apostrophe you certainly will

kalamazoo said:

Correctness aside, the apostrophe doesn't contribute anything to the meaning and the sentence is comprehensible without it. Presumably this is because the pronunciation is the same with or without the apostrophe, which is not the case for "one week's" time.

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Just to avoid confusion: there's no difference in the pronunciation of weeks or week's. But the very fact that we say in one week's time, and not in one week time shows that we are dealing here with a possessive and not just the plural. So there really ought to be an apostrophe in both singular and plural. But I realise that I'm probably on a lost cause.

poljakovsky:

If you are

asked to fill in the gaps in the exercise book, my best guess is this:

"We are going FOR a holiday IN two weeks time"

losilmer said:

poljakovsky:

If you are

only

asked to fill in the gaps in the exercise book, my best guess is this:

"We are going FOR a holiday IN two weeks time"

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Isn't it "...ON holiday" ? (that was the part where I didn't have any doubt, but I may be wrong)

kemoll said:

Hi poljakovski
We are going on holiday in two weeks' time means that your holiday doesn't start for another two weeks.

You could say: We are going on holiday for two weeks. (WITHOUT 'time') That would indicate how long the holiday will last.

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I'm still confused.

In two weeks' time : "Your holiday doesn't start for another two weeks" . Does it mean that from the day the speakers said to the day after two weeks, they are not going on holiday, and the following two weeks' time, they're going on holiday ?

And "in two week's time" means "the time of two weeks", doesn't it. Does it emphasize the period of time ?

Hi startnight,

The first sentence means that they are scheduled to leave for their holiday in two weeks.

Thanks ribran. So what's difference between "in two weeks" and "in two weeks' time" in usage ? Would you mind to explain for me in the example as below :

Jason : We'll give you the order if you can guarantee delivery in three weeks.

Keith : If you confirm the order today, we'll deliver in two weeks. We'll have to because we have an urgent order that we must start working on in two weeks' time.

Jason : If you can deliver in two weeks, that would give us a big advantage over our competitors.

This has been misunderstood for years. There is no apostrophe required.
'In two weeks' & 'In two weeks time' mean the same thing and the word time is used as a qualifier to the unit (weeks). It is not a case of possession.
Similar examples are:
Ten degrees centigrade.
Five kilometers north.

You would not say 'Ten degrees of centigrade!'
Minutes can refer to angles ( a minute is a 60th of a degree) so 'Two minutes rotation' is a further example of rotation being a qualifier to the unit.

eve1 said:

This has been misunderstood for years. There is no apostrophe required.
'In two weeks' & 'In two weeks time' mean the same thing and the word time is used as a qualifier to the unit (weeks). It is not a case of possession.
Similar examples are:
Ten degrees centigrade.
Five kilometers north.

You would not say 'Ten degrees of centigrade!'

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I'm afraid explanations abound as to why you're incorrect. I won't Google-spam you with proof, but a simple web search for "temporal expressions + apostrophe" will provide all the examples you need.

The Guardian article on the subject contains a useful reminder, which is backed up by the various linguistic sources:

To indicate time or quantity

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This book represents a year's thought, squeezed into a month's actual work.

Apostrophes are used in phrases such as two days' time and 12 years' jail, where the time period (two days) modifies a noun (time), but not in three weeks old or nine months pregnant, where the time period (three weeks) modifies an adjective (old). You can test this by trying the singular: one day's time, but one month pregnant.

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