# Yesterday afternoon set in misty [Yesterday]



## QiaoH

Hello, everyone 
Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. Yesterday, we went to the zoo. Yesterday morning I went for a run.（The first sentence is from the net, the second and third sentences are from the dictionary.）
 Why are these three sentences not different?
Thank you!


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## cidertree

Hi QiaoH,

Not different in what way?


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## dojibear

QiaoH said:


> Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold.


This sounds incorrect. What does "set" mean, that an afternoon can do?


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## QiaoH

dojibear said:


> This sounds incorrect. What does "set" mean, that an afternoon can do?


I don't know, I was asking why this time adverb is placed at the beginning of a sentence with a comma, and why the subject and verb are switched in one sentence.

“Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights.”


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## cidertree

dojibear said:


> This sounds incorrect. What does "set" mean, that an afternoon can do?


Poetic certainly, but not incorrect.

Read it as something like "Yesterday afternoon established itself as being misty and cold."


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## Szkot

'Yesterday afternoon' is the subject of the first sentence.  The other two sentences have the same structure - there is no need for the comma in the second sentence.


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## QiaoH

dojibear said:


> This sounds incorrect. What does "set" mean, that an afternoon can do?


Is this an ancient usage?


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## entangledbank

Words like 'yesterday', as well as parts like 'yesterday morning', can be the subject of a sentence:

Yesterday was Thursday.
Yesterday was cold and misty.
Yesterday began cold but later warmed up.

Or they can be a time phrase in front of the subject of a sentence. As is usual with time phrases, a comma (and what it represents in speech - intonation or pause) are optional:

Yesterday[,] we went to the zoo.
Yesterday[,] it was cold and misty. (dummy subject 'it' for weather)
Yesterday[,] the day began cold and misty.


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## QiaoH

entangledbank said:


> Words like 'yesterday', as well as parts like 'yesterday morning', can be the subject of a sentence:
> 
> Yesterday was Thursday.
> Yesterday was cold and misty.
> Yesterday began cold but later warmed up.
> 
> Or they can be a time phrase in front of the subject of a sentence. As is usual with time phrases, a comma (and what it represents in speech - intonation or pause) are optional:
> 
> Yesterday[,] we went to the zoo.
> Yesterday[,] it was cold and misty. (dummy subject 'it' for weather)
> Yesterday[,] the day began cold and misty.


Thank you 
Yesterday morning I went for a run.


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## cidertree

QiaoH said:


> Is this an ancient usage?


I wouldn't say so.

It's "set in"(#1), not "set".


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## QiaoH

entangledbank said:


> Words like 'yesterday', as well as parts like 'yesterday morning', can be the subject of a sentence:
> 
> Yesterday was Thursday.
> Yesterday was cold and misty.
> Yesterday began cold but later warmed up.
> 
> Or they can be a time phrase in front of the subject of a sentence. As is usual with time phrases, a comma (and what it represents in speech - intonation or pause) are optional:
> 
> Yesterday[,] we went to the zoo.
> Yesterday[,] it was cold and misty. (dummy subject 'it' for weather)
> Yesterday[,] the day began cold and misty.


Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold.” "Yesterday afternoon" is not the subject


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## Hermione Golightly

I agree it's not ancient usage. I use it more for the weather than time of day but I wouldn't like to say that this unusual.
"Stormy weather had set in that weekend, so all the planned activities were cancelled."


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## cidertree

QiaoH said:


> Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold.” "Yesterday afternoon" is not the subject


Yes, it is.

Compare it with the example our dictionary gives for "set in":

"The winter has set in."


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## Szkot

QiaoH said:


> Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold.” "Yesterday afternoon" is not the subject


Yes it is.

Cross-posted apart from the comma


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## Hermione Golightly

If it's not the subject, then what is? Weather can be the subject or object of sentences as well as adverbial.


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## QiaoH

Hermione Golightly said:


> If it's not the subject, then what is? Weather can be the subject or object of sentences as well as adverbial.


A Chinese teacher said the subject of the sentence is mist and cold,(change misty to mist)


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## dojibear

QiaoH said:


> Is this an ancient usage?


The book this quote came from was published in 1847 in UK English (BE), but the posts above say this is still correct in BE.

I don't think this phrase is acceptable in US English (AE). There are some differences between AE and BE.



Hermione Golightly said:


> If it's not the subject, then what is? Weather can be the subject or object of sentences as well as adverbial.


"The afternoon" is not weather.


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## cidertree

QiaoH said:


> A Chinese teacher said the subject of the sentence is mist and cold,(change misty to mist)


The teacher is wrong. It happens.


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## dojibear

The subject does not come after the verb.

Mist and cold set in. 
Set in mist and cold.


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## QiaoH

dojibear said:


> The subject does not come after the verb.
> 
> Mist and cold set in.
> Set in mist and cold.


“Yesterday afternoon” is at the beginning of the sentence, so it can be.



cidertree said:


> Hi QiaoH,
> 
> Not different in what way?


Thank you



Szkot said:


> Yes it is.
> 
> Cross-posted apart from the comma


Thank you

Thank you everyone ^_^🌹


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## lingobingo

QiaoH said:


> Yesterday afternoon *set in* misty and cold.” "Yesterday afternoon" is not the subject


This simply means: Yesterday afternoon *began* misty and cold.

Yesterday afternoon (subject)
set in (phrasal verb, past tense)
misty and cold. (complement)

We probably wouldn’t use the same expression now, nearly two hundred years on, but the meaning is perfectly clear to native speakers today.


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## QiaoH

lingobingo said:


> This simply means: Yesterday afternoon *began* misty and cold.
> 
> Yesterday afternoon (subject)
> set in (phrasal verb, past tense)
> misty and cold. (complement)
> 
> We probably wouldn’t use the same expression now, nearly two hundred years on, but the meaning is perfectly clear to native speakers today.


Thanks.
Dictionary: set in phrasal verb set in (of rain, bad weather, infection, etc.) to begin and seem likely to continue The rain seemed to have set in for the day.So I don't think Yesterday afternoon is quite right as a subject. But after reading the teachers' answers here, I know it is OK.


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## lingobingo

QiaoH said:


> “Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights.”


In that use, *yesterday afternoon* is a noun phrase, meaning the afternoon of the day before today.

But (as in your other two examples) the same two words can also be used as an adverb phrase, meaning *on* the afternoon of the day before today.
​Yesterday afternoon was sunny. (noun)​It was sunny yesterday afternoon. (adverb)​


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## QiaoH

lingobingo said:


> In that use, *yesterday afternoon* is a noun phrase, meaning the afternoon of the day before today.
> 
> But (as in your other two examples) the same two words can also be used as an adverb phrase, meaning *on* the afternoon of the day before today.
> ​Yesterday afternoon was sunny. (noun)​It was sunny yesterday afternoon. (adverb)​


Both sentences are correct, the second sentence is more commonly used, the first sentence is not often heard? Or are both authentic and formal expressions in English?


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## lingobingo

They’re both correct and natural.


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## QiaoH

lingobingo said:


> In that use, *yesterday afternoon* is a noun phrase, meaning the afternoon of the day before today.
> 
> But (as in your other two examples) the same two words can also be used as an adverb phrase, meaning *on* the afternoon of the day before today.
> ​Yesterday afternoon was sunny. (noun)​It was sunny yesterday afternoon. (adverb)​


“The weather was sunny Yesterday afternoon.” Or “It was sunny yesterday afternoon. ” Because I always thought it was such two expressions that



lingobingo said:


> They’re both correct and natural.


“The weather was sunny Yesterday afternoon.”？

We think that the subject about weather is either replaced by weather or it. Is it wrong?


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## lingobingo

I can’t give you a rule about this. That’s not how it works. But when making a general comment about the weather, we normally use *it* as the subject, since it can sometimes sound odd to use *the weather* instead.

It’s raining   
The weather’s raining 

It’s sunny today.  
We’ve finally got some sunny weather! 
The weather is sunny today.


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## QiaoH

lingobingo said:


> I can’t give you a rule about this. That’s not how it works. But when making a general comment about the weather, we normally use *it* as the subject, since it can sometimes sound odd to use *the weather* instead.
> 
> It’s raining
> The weather’s raining
> 
> It’s sunny today.
> We’ve finally got some sunny weather!
> The weather is sunny today.


Yesterday afternoon was raining.?
Yesterday was sunny.?


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## lingobingo

Yesterday afternoon (adverb), *it* rained / *it* was raining / *it* was cloudy/sunny. 

Yesterday afternoon (noun) was sunny.


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## QiaoH

lingobingo said:


> Yesterday afternoon (adverb), *it* rained / *it* was raining / *it* was cloudy/sunny.
> 
> Yesterday afternoon (noun) was sunny.


Thank you so much 😊

Sorry，“The weather has set in rainy.”What about this sentence? A sample sentence from the dictionary, why does this sentence use the weather? “Stormy weather had set in that weekend, so all the planned activities were cancelled."I would say like this, Sunny weather/cold weather? “Rainy weather has set in.”


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## lingobingo

That’s not idiomatic. (Googling it only brings up two 19th-century uses!)


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## QiaoH

lingobingo said:


> That’s not idiomatic. (Googling it only brings up two 19th-century uses!)


What are you referring to?


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## lingobingo

QiaoH said:


> What are you referring to?


The weather has set in rainy. (You hadn’t added all that other stuff when I replied!)

*Stormy weather* had set in that weekend 
This relates to a particular type of weather, which is fine.

But that’s enough now, please.


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## QiaoH

lingobingo said:


> The weather has set in rainy. (You hadn’t added all that other stuff when I replied!)
> 
> *Stormy weather* had set in that weekend
> This relates to a particular type of weather, which is fine.
> 
> But that’s enough now, please.


Okay, thank you for your generous.


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## Roxxxannne

dojibear said:


> The book this quote came from was published in 1847 in UK English (BE), but the posts above say this is still correct in BE.
> 
> I don't think this phrase is acceptable in US English (AE). There are some differences between AE and BE.
> 
> 
> "The afternoon" is not weather.


I understood what that sentence meant immediately.  I think it's unusual and probably a little old-fashioned, but it doesn't sound unacceptable to me.


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## acb1190

Roxxxannne said:


> I understood what that sentence meant immediately.  I think it's unusual and probably a little old-fashioned, but it doesn't sound unacceptable to me.


While I understood it (upon my second time reading it), I agree this use of "set in" is certainly old-fashioned, and like dojibear (#17) said, it is particularly unusual in American English.


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## QiaoH

Roxxxannne said:


> I understood what that sentence meant immediately.  I think it's unusual and probably a little old-fashioned, but it doesn't sound unacceptable to me.


Thank you!
Do you think the old-fashioned usage is because of "set in"? If this sentence is changed to "began"?


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## acb1190

Yes, exactly. In modern American usage, _"Yesterday afternoon *began* misty and cold," "Yesterday afternoon *started off *misty and cold," and "Yesterday afternoon *was* misty and cold,"_ all sound more natural.


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## lingobingo

If a certain type of weather has “*set in*”, that means it’s become firmly established and looks set to continue for quite a long time. You can find it in Elton John’s famous song “Candle in the Wind”!


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## QiaoH

lingobingo said:


> If a certain type of weather has “*set in*”, that means it’s become firmly established and looks set to continue for quite a long time. You can find it in Elton John’s famous song “Candle in the Wind”!


Thank you!



acb1190 said:


> Yes, exactly. In modern American usage, _"Yesterday afternoon *began* misty and cold," "Yesterday afternoon *started off *misty and cold," and "Yesterday afternoon *was* misty and cold,"_ all sound more natural.


Thank you!


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## Roxxxannne

lingobingo said:


> If a certain type of weather has “*set in*”, that means it’s become firmly established and looks set to continue for quite a long time. You can find it in Elton John’s famous song “Candle in the Wind”!


I agree.  It has nothing to do with being early in the day, necessarily.  It's the opposite of beginning: the type of weather is already in existence where the observer is, and it is definitely going to continue for a while.


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## Roxxxannne

Instead of 'set in', I might say 'settled in':  "The clouds settled in over the valley and looked as though they would stay for a long time."


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## QiaoH

Roxxxannne said:


> I agree.  It has nothing to do with being early in the day, necessarily.  It's the opposite of beginning: the type of weather is already in existence where the observer is, and it is definitely going to continue for a while.


merriam-webster：to begin to be present, seen, etc. — used of something unpleasant or unwanted that often lasts for a long time



Roxxxannne said:


> Instead of 'set in', I might say 'settled in':  "The clouds settled in over the valley and looked as though they would stay for a long time."


Thank you so much! 
What does "Settle in" mean?


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## Roxxxannne

It's figurative: when a person settles in to their new home, they become comfortable in it and used to it.  The clouds stop moving and seem to fit themselves to the location they're in (or over).


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## QiaoH

Roxxxannne said:


> It's figurative: when a person settles in to their new home, they become comfortable in it and used to it.  The clouds stop moving and seem to fit themselves to the location they're in (or over).


You are describing clouds. “set in” refers to people's unpleasant feelings


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## velisarius

We are talking about the phrasal verb "set in", which has nothing to do with people's unpleasant feelings. Can you give a link to the dictionary definition you found?


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## Hermione Golightly

> to begin to be present, seen, etc. — *used of something unpleasant or unwanted that often lasts for a long time*


So glad that Merriam Webster agrees with us! (My bolds)



> “set in” refers to people's unpleasant feelings



I wonder if contradicting people is acceptable manners in China.
One of the forum's uses is to supplement dictionaries by giving native-speaker views and real usage. This doesn't always accord exactly with the dictionary. Many learners use outdated ones.
You seem to be getting confused.


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## QiaoH

Hermione Golightly said:


> So glad that Merriam Webster agrees with us! (My bolds)
> 
> 
> 
> I wonder if contradicting people is acceptable manners in China.
> One of the forum's uses is to supplement dictionaries by giving native-speaker views and real usage. This doesn't always accord exactly with the dictionary. Many learners use outdated ones.
> You seem to be getting confused.


We were just discussing. I understood "set in" by referring to the explanation of the dictionary. I know my understanding is incomplete or even not necessarily correct. That's why I need to tell you so that I can find out where I'm wrong. so sorry!

And I'm a beginner in English, I use translators, sometimes the translated words don't express my meaning completely correctly



Roxxxannne said:


> It's figurative: when a person settles in to their new home, they become comfortable in it and used to it.  The clouds stop moving and seem to fit themselves to the location they're in (or over).


You write a beautiful sentence! And your explanation is very clear, I get it.

Thank you so much, please tell me more.


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## Cyberbear

QiaoH said:


> Hello, everyone
> 
> Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold.


This one is not a complete sentence, the subject is missing. What is set?  Yesterday afternoon, needs comma. 



QiaoH said:


> Yesterday, we went to the zoo.


This is correct. 


QiaoH said:


> Yesterday morning I went for a run.


Yesterday morning, needs comma after morning.


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## velisarius

The sentence is fine (see post #5): the afternoon set in.
The comma in the other two sentences is optional.


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## QiaoH

Thank you, everyone 🌹


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## Cyberbear

velisarius said:


> The sentence is fine (see post #5): the afternoon set in.
> The comma in the other two sentences is optional.


Is it. I ran this by my sister in law, and she is a teacher, and says, the same thing. It is what you call proper English.


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## QiaoH

Cyberbear said:


> Is it. I ran this by my sister in law, and she is a teacher, and says, the same thing. It is what you call proper English.


Sorry, I don't understand.
You can say it more clearly and clearly, you must have proof of what you're saying. 
Thanks!


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## Cyberbear

QiaoH said:


> Sorry, I don't understand.
> You can say it more clearly and clearly, you must have proof of what you're saying.
> Thanks!


*Yesterday afternoon*, is an adverb, actually shortened from, *Yesterday in the afternoon*. Thus, you would pause, slightly, and then follow up with the rest of the sentence. The comma would signify a pause. 

Yesterday in the afternoon, my dog ate my homework. Yesterday afternoon, my dog ate my homework. 
Try saying  the three  sentences out loud in the above topic. The 1st one, doesn't even sound like a sentence. Say the other two, but slightly pause at the comma, and the other one. You will notice that when people speak, "Yesterday, I won first prize," they will pause every so slightly following Yesterday.


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## QiaoH

Cyberbear said:


> *Yesterday afternoon*, is an adverb, actually shortened from, *Yesterday in the afternoon*. Thus, you would pause, slightly, and then follow up with the rest of the sentence. The comma would signify a pause.
> 
> Yesterday in the afternoon, my dog ate my homework. Yesterday afternoon, my dog ate my homework.
> Try saying  the three  sentences out loud in the above topic. The 1st one, doesn't even sound like a sentence. Say the other two, but slightly pause at the comma, and the other one. You will notice that when people speak, "Yesterday, I won first prize," they will pause every so slightly following Yesterday.


Nice, 😊


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## Andygc

Cyberbear said:


> This one is not a complete sentence, the subject is missing. What is set? Yesterday afternoon, needs comma.


Cyberbear, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with "Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold", as several people have already said. "Yesterday afternoon" is a noun phrase and is the subject of the sentence. It may be that most speakers of AE don't use this sentence structure or the phrasal verb "set in", but many BE speakers and some AE speakers do, as has been stated in this thread. It is, most certainly, "proper English". It means that the weather became misty and cold during (normally early in) yesterday afternoon and continued to be misty and cold thereafter.


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## QiaoH

Andygc said:


> Cyberbear, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with "Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold", as several people have already said. "Yesterday afternoon" is a noun phrase and is the subject of the sentence. It may be that most speakers of AE don't use this sentence structure or the phrasal verb "set in", but many BE speakers and some AE speakers do, as has been stated in this thread. It is, most certainly, "proper English". It means that the weather became misty and cold during (normally early in) yesterday afternoon and continued to be misty and cold thereafter.


Thank you very much 🌹


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## Edinburgher

Cyberbear said:


> *Yesterday afternoon*, is an adverb, actually shortened from, *Yesterday in the afternoon*.


"Afternoon" is a noun.  "Yesterday" is sometimes a noun, sometimes an adverb, and sometimes an adjective.  In the phrase "Yesterday afternoon", it is an adjective.  The noun phrase "yesterday afternoon" is often used adverbially, as you correctly show in the example of your wisdom-hungry dog in #54.

In the sentence "Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold", which is complete and correct, the noun phrase "yesterday afternoon" is not an adverbial, but the subject of the sentence.  "Set in" is the verb, meaning "arrived" or "established itself".  "Misty and cold" describes the state in which it arrived or established itself.

If it helps, you can think of "yesterday afternoon" here as a personified abstraction.  Morning comes and goes, then the afternoon comes.  In this case, it was yesterday's afternoon that we are talking about.  We can say "*It was* cold and misty yesterday afternoon" or "Yesterday afternoon, *it was* cold and misty.  Then "yesterday afternoon" is indeed adverbial, and "it" is the dummy subject.  But if you delete the comma and "was" from the latter, then "afternoon" becomes the subject.  The afternoon was cold and misty.  Which afternoon? Yesterday afternoon.

The verb "set in" needs a subject, and "yesterday afternoon" is the only candidate.


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## QiaoH

Edinburgher said:


> "Afternoon" is a noun.  "Yesterday" is sometimes a noun, sometimes an adverb, and sometimes an adjective.  In the phrase "Yesterday afternoon", it is an adjective.  The noun phrase "yesterday afternoon" is often used adverbially, as you correctly show in the example of your wisdom-hungry dog in #54.
> 
> In the sentence "Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold", which is complete and correct, the noun phrase "yesterday afternoon" is not an adverbial, but the subject of the sentence.  "Set in" is the verb, meaning "arrived" or "established itself".  "Misty and cold" describes the state in which it arrived or established itself.
> 
> If it helps, you can think of "yesterday afternoon" here as a personified abstraction.  Morning comes and goes, then the afternoon comes.  In this case, it was yesterday's afternoon that we are talking about.  We can say "*It was* cold and misty yesterday afternoon" or "Yesterday afternoon, *it was* cold and misty.  Then "yesterday afternoon" is indeed adverbial, and "it" is the dummy subject.  But if you delete the comma and "was" from the latter, then "afternoon" becomes the subject.  The afternoon was cold and misty.  Which afternoon? Yesterday afternoon.
> 
> The verb "set in" needs a subject, and "yesterday afternoon" is the only candidate.


Yes, it is very clear, I have understood.
Thank you for your kindness.☺️
“Yesterday” can be an adjective sometimes?
“yesterday afternoon, yesterday morning…” sorry! It's not in a dictionary.
Can “yesterday” be used as adverb conjunction? Thanks!
"It comes and goes in the morning, and then it comes in the afternoon." Is that figurative? 
“We're talking about yesterday afternoon.” What's the difference between "yesterday’s afternoon" and "yesterday afternoon"?

“But if you delete the comma and "was" from the latter,”
Is "was" in a sentence with a dummy subject different from "was" in a sentence with the afternoon subject?


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## Parisicaine

"Yesterday afternoon _set in_ misty and cold" means "Yesterday afternoon _was_ misty and cold" But "set in" means means more than just "was". It means that not only was it misty and cold, but the mist and cold felt like they were settling in for a while. This is a somewhat literary way of saying it, and perfectly appropriate in a 19th-century novel. 
It's also fine to attribute qualities to an afternoon: "Yesterday afternoon was the longest ever." "Yesterday afternoon was pleasant." 
If you want to be pedantic about it, you're right. Technically it's the weather that's misty and cold, not the afternoon. But that's why you and I are just regular people and not novelists or poets.


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## velisarius

QiaoH said:


> “We're talking about yesterday afternoon.” What's the difference between "yesterday’s afternoon" and "yesterday afternoon"?



We don't in fact use "yesterday's afternoon". I think Ed was just using that to make a point.  You can think of "yesterday afternoon" as "the afternoon of yesterday". It's similar to "Tuesday afternoon", which is the afternoon of Tuesday.

We can talk about days, and other expressions like months and seasons, as though they have some kind of autonomy. We don't have to stick to them "being" windy, rainy, etc.
_
Tuesday afternoon started off rainy but ended up clear and bright.
Yesterday afternoon set in misty.
March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. (proverb)
Winter set in cold and wet._


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## Parisicaine

QiaoH said:


> Yes, it is very clear, I have understood.
> Thank you for your kindness.☺️
> “Yesterday” can be an adjective sometimes?
> “yesterday afternoon, yesterday morning…” sorry! It's not in a dictionary.
> Can “yesterday” be used as adverb conjunction? Thanks!
> "It comes and goes in the morning, and then it comes in the afternoon." Is that figurative?
> “We're talking about yesterday afternoon.” What's the difference between "yesterday’s afternoon" and "yesterday afternoon"?
> 
> “But if you delete the comma and "was" from the latter,”
> Is "was" in a sentence with a dummy subject different from "was" in a sentence with the afternoon subject?


Well, there's always "That's so yesterday", where "yesterday" is grammatically an adjective (I think). It's not exactly proper English, but it's a good expression for things that are outdated.

I'm not sure what an adverb conjunction is, but a conjunctive adverb is a word that connects 2 independent clauses. Examples: "however", "therefore", "for instance". I don't know how you could use "yesterday" as a conjunctive adverb, but I'm sure some poet has found a way.

"It comes and goes in the morning, and then it comes in the afternoon." Whether this is figurative or not depends on what "It" is, but mostly I wouldn't think so. I would have said "It comes and goes in the morning, then comes again in the afternoon." But like I say, it really depends on what you're talking about.

The difference between "yesterday afternoon" and "yesterday's afternoon" is that the first is correct and the second is incorrect. "Yesterday afternoon" is a specific period of time. "Yesterday's afternoon" would be the afternoon belonging to yesterday, and that just gets a little strange.

Native English speaker here.


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## QiaoH

Parisicaine said:


> "Yesterday afternoon _set in_ misty and cold" means "Yesterday afternoon _was_ misty and cold" But "set in" means means more than just "was". It means that not only was it misty and cold, but the mist and cold felt like they were settling in for a while. This is a somewhat literary way of saying it, and perfectly appropriate in a 19th-century novel.
> It's also fine to attribute qualities to an afternoon: "Yesterday afternoon was the longest ever." "Yesterday afternoon was pleasant."
> If you want to be pedantic about it, you're right. Technically it's the weather that's misty and cold, not the afternoon. But that's why you and I are just regular people and not novelists or poets.


Thank you!🌹


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## QiaoH

velisarius said:


> We don't in fact use "yesterday's afternoon". I think Ed was just using that to make a point.  You can think of "yesterday afternoon" as "the afternoon of yesterday". It's similar to "Tuesday afternoon", which is the afternoon of Tuesday.
> 
> We can talk about days, and other expressions like months and seasons, as though they have some kind of autonomy. We don't have to stick to them "being" windy, rainy, etc.
> 
> _Tuesday afternoon started off rainy but ended up clear and bright.
> Yesterday afternoon set in misty.
> March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. (proverb)
> Winter set in cold and wet._


Thank you 🌹


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## QiaoH

Parisicaine said:


> Well, there's always "That's so yesterday", where "yesterday" is grammatically an adjective (I think). It's not exactly proper English, but it's a good expression for things that are outdated.
> 
> I'm not sure what an adverb conjunction is, but a conjunctive adverb is a word that connects 2 independent clauses. Examples: "however", "therefore", "for instance". I don't know how you could use "yesterday" as a conjunctive adverb, but I'm sure some poet has found a way.
> 
> "It comes and goes in the morning, and then it comes in the afternoon." Whether this is figurative or not depends on what "It" is, but mostly I wouldn't think so. I would have said "It comes and goes in the morning, then comes again in the afternoon." But like I say, it really depends on what you're talking about.
> 
> The difference between "yesterday afternoon" and "yesterday's afternoon" is that the first is correct and the second is incorrect. "Yesterday afternoon" is a specific period of time. "Yesterday's afternoon" would be the afternoon belonging to yesterday, and that just gets a little strange.
> 
> Native English speaker here.


Thank you so much 🥰


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## QiaoH

velisarius said:


> We can talk about days, and other expressions like months and seasons, as though they have some kind of autonomy. We don't have to stick to them "being" windy, rainy, etc.


Okay 😘


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## QiaoH

_https://www.thefreedictionary.com/yesterday：adj. _
*5. *belonging or pertaining to the day before or to an immediate past time: yesterday morning.
I mistakenly think "yesterday" can be a conjunction，sorry


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## QiaoH

Parisicaine said:


> “It comes and goes in the morning, and then it comes in the afternoon." Whether this is figurative or not depends on what "It" is, but mostly I wouldn't think so. I would have said "It comes and goes in the morning, then comes again in the afternoon." But like I say, it really depends on what you're talking about.


Yes, you are right.😘


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## velisarius

QiaoH said:


> _https://www.thefreedictionary.com/yesterday：adj. _
> *5. *belonging or pertaining to the day before or to an immediate past time: yesterday morning.
> I mistakenly think "yesterday" can be a conjunction，sorry


We shouldn't rely on dictionary classifications of words. 
Grammarians differ on this question, because "yesterday" doesn't fit easily into a grammatical category.


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## QiaoH

velisarius said:


> We shouldn't rely on dictionary classifications of words.
> Grammarians differ on this question, because "yesterday" doesn't fit easily into a grammatical category.


Yes, dictionaries cannot replace grammar books, but we English learners always refer to dictionaries. But why doesn't  "yesterday" fit easily into a grammatical category?


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