Evening/Night (was Re: The "Mother" Problem)

From: Gordon Barlow
Message: 36478
Date: 2005-02-25

>Anyway, I am talking specifically about so called
correct English usage, and not just that of the U.S.
It's been many years since I attended English class
in high school, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't
considered correct to write "I work nights'".

Hmmm. I'll just write a few words here and then I'll go home. Does that
sound right? But if it's "correct" to say "I'll go home" and not "I'll go
*to* home", then it is equally correct to say "I work nights" and not "...
*at* nights". It is simply a matter of idiom: "...at nights" in Britain,
"... nights" in USA. There is no correct or incorrect about it. In British
English it is quite customary to say "I'll phone you", but not "I'll write
you". One would be hard put to find a grammatical distinction in there
anywhere.

Gordon