# in the night / at night



## Donpayin

Which is the correct one?
in the night Or at night.

Thanks in advance.


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## jacinta

Both are correct, so it depends on the context.


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## Donpayin

COuld you please give me some examples of contexts?

Thanx


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## jacinta

*In the night *is not commonly used.  It sounds poetic or literary.
"The wolves howled in the night."

*At night *is more common. " Our neighbor's dog always wakes me up at night with its barking."
"He works at night so he sleeps in the daytime."

I hope this helps.


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## angel101

You can often use "during" to convey the same meaning as "in" - obviously it does depend on the context!


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## jacinta

Yes, absolutely.  In fact, I think *during the night *would be more commonly said.
"My relatives arrived sometime during the night.  I was sound asleep so I´m not sure what time they got here."


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## mazbook

American - "during the night" - most common as jacinta says.

British - "in the night" - *I THINK.

*Saludos desde Mazatlán


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## helenono

mazbook said:
			
		

> British - "in the night" - *I THINK.*
> 
> Saludos desde Mazatlán


No, we don't say "in the night" instead of "at night" in the UK.

I agree with what Jacinta has said in her previous post.


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## mazbook

Sorry if my post was confusing, helenono, I meant that I thought "in the night" was British and "during the night" was American.  NEITHER can be used instead of "at night".

Saludos desde Mazatlán


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## helenono

Thanks for the clarification.
I would say that we use "during the night" and "in the night" (which is much less common, as Jacinta mentioned) in the same way as you do in the US.
Saludos.


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## mariente

No vi que hayan mecionado un caso en que solo se puede usar in the night.
In the night of...a date, a fact
No podés poner at night oh o at the night of...
saludos!


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## AnotherStephen

"There was a lot of rain in the night." That's fine.


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## jacinta

mariente said:
			
		

> No vi que hayan mecionado un caso en que solo se puede usar in the night.
> *In the night of...a date, a fact*
> No podés poner at night oh o at the night of...
> saludos!



Este ejemplo sería: *On* the night of ...the 5th of April...o cualquier fecha.


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## mazbook

Más ejemplos:

"When do owls hunt?  They hunt *at night."  *Tambien puede usar "*during the*" o "*in the*" pero cierto "*at*" es el mejor.
"When did your husband come home last night?"  "Sometime *during *_or _*in the night."  ¡*Nunca use "*at*".!
* 
"On the night of *April 5th, there was a lunar eclipse."  Puede usar "*during*" aquí tambien pero cierto "*on" *es el mejor.  ¡No pueda usar ni "*in"* ni "*at*".

Saludos desde Mazatlán


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## mariente

mazbook said:
			
		

> Más ejemplos:
> 
> "When do owls hunt?  They hunt *at night."
> 
> *"When did your husband come home last night?"  "Sometime *during *_or _*in the night."
> 
> "On the night of *April 5th, there was a lunar eclipse."  Puede usar "*during*" aquí tambien pero cierto "*on" *es el mejor.
> 
> Saludos desde Mazatlán


Ooooops, tenes razón, tuve un momento de distracción, perdón si confundí a alguien.


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## Ivy29

jacinta said:
			
		

> Yes, absolutely. In fact, I think *during the night *would be more commonly said.
> "My relatives arrived sometime during the night. I was sound asleep so I´m not sure what time they got here."


 
According to OXFORD guide to English grammar:

<<At night= when it is night, the windows are shut *at* night.

IN THE NIGHT = in the middle of the night, I heard a noise *in the* night.<<

Ivy29


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## Donpayin

Thanks a lot! as usual this is the best forum I have ever seen!


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## Rousse13

Hi everybody,

I had the same question and this is what I found:

We say *at night* when we are talking about *all of the night. *Example: He sleeps during the day and works *at night*.

But we say *in the night *when we are talking about a *short time *during the night. Example. He woke up twice *in the night / *I heard a funny noise *in the night*.

See you!


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## ElenaSPb

Rousse13 said:


> Hi everybody,
> 
> I had the same question and this is what I found:
> 
> We say *at night* when we are talking about *all of the night. *Example: He sleeps during the day and works *at night*.
> 
> But we say *in the night *when we are talking about a *short time *during the night. Example. He woke up twice *in the night / *I heard a funny noise *in the night*.
> 
> See you!


 Thank you  for the reply! I liked your answer more than others!


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## Johncbcn

helenono said:


> No, we don't say "in the night" instead of "at night" in the UK.
> 
> I agree with what Jacinta has said in her previous post.



I agree, although we also say "in the middle of the night" ( the wee, small hours!)


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## levmac

That is, I suspect because of middle, not night. 

I think the advice above is great:

*at* night, unless you mean *during*.


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## Johncbcn

levmac said:


> That is, I suspect because of middle, not night.
> 
> I think the advice above is great:
> 
> *at* night, unless you mean *during*.



I'm thinking of a Billy Joel song, ".... in the middle of the night, I go walking in my dreams, to the valley of....". Here it just means "at some particular time during the night". The phone rang in the middle of the night, etc.

But yes, the above advice is 100% spot on.


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## User With No Name

"In the night" really only sounds natural to me in a literary or humorous context: "things that go bump in the night."


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## sound shift

... That's not the case for me. I get up in the morning, I see water on the ground and I say "It must have rained in the night."


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## Johncbcn

sound shift said:


> ... That's not the case for me. I get up in the morning, I see water on the ground and I say "It must have rained in the night."




Mmm. I´d probably say that,too, but it´s really a colloquial, albeit valid expression. Ya me dirás


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## sound shift

Johncbcn said:


> Mmm. I´d probably say that,too, but it´s really a colloquial, albeit valid expression. Ya me dirás


Indeed I will : It sounds normal and neutral, not colloquial, to me.


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## levmac

I think it's another example of "in" meaning "during". Totally correct and normal.


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## chileno

What about say the ending of a book "...and he got lost in the night"? Would that mean "during"?


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## Johncbcn

chileno said:


> What about say the ending of a book "...and he got lost in the night"? Would that mean "during"?



También, tiene sentido.
Con esta frase, yo tenedería a pensar : en la oscuridad; se dejó llevar


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## Johncbcn

Johncbcn said:


> También, tiene sentido.
> Con esta frase, yo tenedería a pensar : en la oscuridad; se dejó llevar/ perder por la locura nocturna


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## Johncbcn

O bien, en un momento determinado, a lo largo de/ durante la noche, se


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## Johncbcn

Johncbcn said:


> O bien, en un momento determinado, a lo largo de/ durante la noche, se



... perdió.


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## chileno

Johncbcn said:


> También, tiene sentido.
> Con esta frase, yo tenedería a pensar : en la oscuridad; se dejó llevar



Más bien, se adentró into the night.

How about that one for Spanglish?


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## ilya

33 comments and nobody has still come up with Frank Sinatra?

Strangers in the night. 

I bet you can't put any other word there (at, during, on...)

Okay, it's literary, I guess. But still, it's a classic.


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## chileno

ilya said:


> 33 comments and nobody has still come up with Frank Sinatra?
> 
> Strangers in the night.
> 
> I bet you can't put any other word there (at, during, on...)
> 
> Okay, it's literary, I guess. But still, it's a classic.


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