Tell me please the difference between the following sentences.
February 11 was really hectic, so I had to do a ton on the day.
February 11 was really hectic, so I had to do a ton in the day.
February 11 was really hectic, so I had to do a ton during the day.
I am are that "in the day" may mean a specific stretch of time of 24 hours, and "on the day" may mean a specific date. But don't they basically mean the same in my sentences?
Best Answer
None of these is something a fluent speaker would be likely to say.
The most likely way to express the idea would be, "February 11 was really hectic, so I had to do a ton of work that day."
"During the day" is usually used when contrasting with "night". Like, "I work during the day and spend the nights resting."
"In the day" is a somewhat informal way of referring to past times. Like, "In the days of the French Revolution ..." Or when an older person is talking about his youth, he might say "Yes, back in the day, we used to ..." It can also be used, like "during the day", to contrast with night. Like, "In the day the spotted fwacbar bird sleeps, and it hunts at night."
"On the day" can be used to emphasize that something happened or will happen on a particular day. "On the day that my brother died, I was living in Kansas ..." This might be close to what you were trying to say above, but your wording is not idiomatic.