"dans" not used when saying "in the morning" but is used when saying "in the afternoon"..

Leah V.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

"dans" not used when saying "in the morning" but is used when saying "in the afternoon"..

correct answers in weekend challenge:

qui devrait nous livrer les fleurs dans l'apres-midi

tu prendras ta voiture le matin

these seem to me to be the same sentence structure.  Why is dans not used consistently?  what about in the evening or night?

anyone able to help me understand?  

thank you

Asked 6 years ago
Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I had the very same question. Hopefully someone can explain.
Leah V.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
When I typed in "dans le matin" in reverso.com context, many examples come up.  Maybe it wasn't wrong afterall.  Hopefully, someone will be able to clarify.
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Leah, as I don't see a reply from our native speakers, here is my take on this:

If you want to say, "In the morning" meaning all mornings, you simply use "le matin". Similarly, "l'aprèsmidi", "le soir", etc.

"This morning" would be "ce matin":
Je me suis réveillé tard ce matin. --
I woke up late this morning.

There are cases where you can say "dans le matin" when you want to say something like:
Il faut acceuillir ces fruits dans le matin. -- One must gather these fruits in the morning.

I guess "le matin" comes either at the beginning or the end of a sentence. If you want to use it in the middle, it turns into "dans le matin":
Prenez le medicament une fois par jour dans le matin. -- Take the medicine once per day in the morning.

I would also appreciate the input of a native speaker.

-- Chris.

"dans" not used when saying "in the morning" but is used when saying "in the afternoon"..

correct answers in weekend challenge:

qui devrait nous livrer les fleurs dans l'apres-midi

tu prendras ta voiture le matin

these seem to me to be the same sentence structure.  Why is dans not used consistently?  what about in the evening or night?

anyone able to help me understand?  

thank you

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