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Posted by rfvv on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 9:20pm.







1. He read the book in 5 days.
2. He read the book after 5 days.
3. He read the book within 5 days.
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In a dictionary, I found that 'in' is used as 'within' in American English. Then it's confusing. Does #1 mean #3 in American English? I think #1 mean that it took 5 day for him to read this book. Am I right? In #3, He may have finished reading the book within 2 days, 3 days, 4 days or 5 days,right? Would you answer the qeustions?
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English - Ms. Sue, Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 9:22pm
Yes, 1 and 3 mean the same. 3 could mean less than 5 days.

2 means something entirely different.

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English - rfvv, Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 11:28pm
Thank you. Then, when it took nearly 5 days to finish reading the book, what expression do we have to use?

If it took four and a half days, you can say "within five days", yes.

When it took nearly 5 days to finish reading the book, you can use the phrase "close to" or "almost" followed by the number of days. For example, you can say "He read the book in close to 5 days" or "He finished reading the book in almost 5 days." These phrases convey that it took a little less than 5 days to complete the reading.