"On/at/for/over the weekend" in American English
Some sources say that "at the weekend" is wrong, while other ones say it's correct. Which form is acceptable in American English?
- On Saturdays her sister Ann usually comes to stay with Mary on/at/for/over the weekend/s.
- What are you going to do at/on/for/over the weekend/s?
- We are going to Paris on/at/for/over the weekend/s.
- Are you going to stay here for/at/on/over the weekend/s?
Which preposition do American English speakers use — at, on, for, over?
I have to admit I haven't consulted any sources, but here is what I'd say is "correct":
- On Saturdays, her sister Ann usually comes to stay with Mary for the weekend.
and
- What are you going to do for the weekend?
- What are you going to do over the weekend?
and
- We are going to Paris for the weekend.
- We are going to Paris over the weekend.
"Weekend" would not normally be pluralized when preceeded by the word "the". For example:
- Are you going to stay here on weekends?
And finally, to address "at the weekend": this is often seen in British publications, but I've never seen the phrase "at the weekend" in American English.
As JR says, at doesn't work. In general, you would use at with a time, e.g., I'm going to do that at 3 PM. You can use on/for/over for a day or date range, with slightly different meanings. On is slightly vague (possibly deliberately so) and would suggest some time during the weekend, or possibly the whole weekend. For the weekend could mean most of the weekend and possibly the entire weekend, and over the weekend explicitly means the whole weekend — in this context. As @JeffSahol points out, in other contexts (e.g., I'll fix that over the weekend) it just means that by the time the weekend is over it will have happened.
This is based solely on my experience as a native speaker of American English.
It's worth pointing out that at the weekend is fine in British English. It means "at some point during the weekend".
I'm going to wash the car at the weekend.
Americans would possibly use on for this.
Anne is coming to stay at the weekend —
Anne will arrive during Saturday or SundayAnne is coming to stay for the weekend —
Anne will arrive on Friday or Saturday and leave on Sunday or MondayAnne is coming to stay over the weekend —
could mean either of the above; it could mean that she will arrive at the weekend and stay for longer.
'On', among other meanings, is used to indicate "the day or time when something happens"; so we could say:
I planned to do a lot 'on' the weekend.
Is your routine the same 'on' weekends?
'Over', among other meanings, means "during a period of time"; so we could say:
She'll stay with us 'over' the weekend.
We are planning to go there 'over' the weekend.
They decided to read the papers 'over' the weekend.
'For', among other meanings, indicates "the time through which an action extends"; so we could say:
- Where do you plan to go 'for' the weekend?
'At' doesn't work, this preposition could indicate, for instance, "a part of the day" and "a precise moment," not the entire weekend. (I have to be at lunch at noon.)
If you like, we could add another preposition to your examples: 'throughout'.
'Throughout', among other meanings, indicates "going on for a while" and "all through"; so we could say:
- It snowed 'throughout' the weekend.
Andrew Leach already pointed out that "at the weekend" is acceptable in British English. I thought this was interesting; the following screen shots are both from Macmillan's online dictionary (for the word at, meaning 3), but they one on the left is from their online British dictionary, while the one on the right is from their online American dictionary.
There are only a few differences in the entries (the last of which is pertinent to this conversation, although the others are rather intersting as well):
(1) in 3a, it's match vs. game, and train vs flight;
(2) in one sample sentence, they've changed Edinburgh to Atlanta;
(3) the example sentence What are you doing at the weekend? is omitted from the American version.
