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  1. I made up a sentence:

I was suspended from school for a week for fighting.

Does it suggest that the period of suspension, which is a week, elapsed or I'm still not allowed to attend school?

  1. Another sentence:

The ferry service has been suspended for the day because of bad weather.

Is "the day" the period of suspension or the time that has passed since the suspension started? Why is "the day" used and not "a day"? Thank you all!

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When you say

I was suspended from school for a week for fighting.

You mean you will/would be able to go back to school after the one-week suspension period ends/ended (depending on context).

The ferry service has been suspended for the day because of bad weather.

The suspension lasts from the moment this notice goes up until the end of day that day. Here the definite article (the) is used instead of the indefinite article (a) because the service interruption is intended to last for just one day max and the notice is intended to be up for that period. So "the day" refers to that day when the ferry is out of order and the notice is up to tell people that.

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    One could use that sentence about a suspension to describe an event that happened months ago, as well as one where the suspension is currently in force.
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Commented Jun 17, 2020 at 20:26
  • "Aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys." Did the suspension start in this case?
    – Vova
    Commented Jun 17, 2020 at 21:10
  • @Vova Unclear. "Starting next Monday, aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys." Then the suspension of programs hasn't started. "Aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. If you need to apply for aid you'll have to go to another organization." Here it has started, but you can also say "Aid programs are suspended until..." No difference in meaning.
    – Eddie Kal
    Commented Jun 17, 2020 at 21:14
  • Situation: I stopped practising boxing 6 months ago. Can I rephrase it like: I have suspended practising boxing for 6 months? Or I suspended practising boxing the last 6 months? What would you say?
    – Vova
    Commented Jun 17, 2020 at 22:30
  • @Vova I wouldn't use "suspend". "I have stopped going to boxing practice since 6 months ago."
    – Eddie Kal
    Commented Jun 17, 2020 at 23:07
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The verb suspend has multiple meanings. This is a good example.

In terms of what time period the first sentence refers to, it's unclear without context. The suspension can either be ongoing or completed, depending on when that sentence is said.

Your second sentence uses a different meaning of the verb suspend. The first sentence deals with a punishment. A boat is not a person/animal, so the boat cannot be punished. When it says that the ferry service is suspended, that means that the ferry service is halted or not happening for a certain period of time.

Your inquiry about the day versus a day is a good one. The two suggest something slightly different. To me, the day suggests the rest of today, while a day suggests a day that is not today (either in the past or the future, depending on the tense used). The same reasoning applies to the suspension, which is why a week is used instead.

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