Omitting the preposition

Written by Bill Teach

See you Tuesday! See you on Tuesday!

This is to answer the question raised by Mauricio Haddad. Mauricio, thank you for taking part in the discussion.

We all know that the preposition ‘ON’ is used before the days of the week or the days of the month.

- I saw him on Wednesday.

- He is going to arrive on the 2^nd (of December).

While reading an article, Mauricio noticed that in the same text the word Tuesday was written with and without the preposition ‘ON’.

Examples:  

(Extracts from the article ‘Nuclear uncertainty lingers as clock ticks for survivors in Japan’ from CNN)

- Already in Sendai, cold rain and sleet fell on the decimated city Tuesday.

- Still, Japanese stocks closed down 10.55 percent Tuesday.

- Also on Tuesday, an "explosive impact" occurred at the No. 2 reactor building…

- Radiation levels in Tokyo were twice the usual level on Tuesday.

It is in fact mind boggling. But there is a very simple explanation for it. In American English, it is quite common to omit the preposition ‘ON’ before the days of the week. It is just a style which is opted by the writer or the speaker.