"in" or '"for "?

Posted by Smokey Stover on March 27, 2004

In Reply to: "In" or '"for "? posted by R. Berg on March 26, 2004

: : : Here's a sentence i'm confused about-

: : : Peter was hogging the food like he hadn't eaten "in " or "for" days.
: : : ?
: : : thansk!

: : 'in' days means 'within a period of' and 'for' denotes duration of time. I think either are acceptable, but if the event was in the past I would nudge towards 'in days'.

: "In" and "for" sound equally good to me (a U.S. speaker).

Personally, I would prefer to say "Peter was hogging the food as though he ...." And "if the event were in the past, I would nudge...." I know, I know, I'm just too picky. I have this thing for the subjunctive. SS