There is a sentence, "He would study for eight to ten hours at a stretch."
If I say, "He would study for eight to ten hours in a row.", does the meaning the same?
The dictionary says that "in a row" means without a break, and "at a stretch" means continuously. To me, these two phrases seem to have the same meaning.
Could you explain how to use these two?
Also how about "eight to ten straight hours"? Does this also have the same meaning?
Learn English – Difference between ” in a row” and “at a stretch”
word-meaning
Best Answer
If something happens several times in a row, it happens in exactly the same way each time and nothing different happens in the time between.
Example:"He won two gold medals in a row."
"At a stretch"means to do something without stopping.
Example:"He used to read for hours at a stretch."
So as you see, they don't mean the same thing. On the other hand,"to do something for two hours straight.", means that you do something continuously, without interruption,so it has the same meaning with "at a stretch."
Example:"They have been studying for ten hours straight.", or "They have been studying for ten staight hours."