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I have an argument about this with two friends. We are not native English speakers. We read a sentence and are not certain if it is a valid sentence. We can all understand it but we do not agree if it is valid or not. Translators will do just fine in translating it. Spell/grammar checkers did not find errors. The sentence in question:

Tickets must be submitted no longer than 3 hours of the event ending.

Is there anything missing here? Can you leave it like it is?

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  • Native English speakers. Such a simple rule.
    – Lambie
    Aug 23, 2020 at 0:29
  • It is all wrong: "Tickets will be collected no later than three house after the event ends." Yep, I am a translator.... tickets are not submitted at events. They might presumably be handed in. The issues here are not grammatical; they are semantic and idiomatic.
    – Lambie
    Aug 23, 2020 at 0:36
  • One grammar mistake in fact: three hours after the event ends.//not three hours of the event ending.
    – Lambie
    Aug 23, 2020 at 0:42
  • Thanks. I think specifically the last part of the sentence was the issue for us. Not sure what your first comment suggests though.
    – user121043
    Aug 23, 2020 at 1:01
  • To be a sentence, it must be understandable.
    – DrMoishe Pippik
    Aug 23, 2020 at 4:32

1 Answer 1

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Issue 1:

no longer than 3 hours of the event ending.

This isn't grammatically correct, and should be modified. Here is one option:

no later than 3 hours after the event ends.

Issue 2:

Tickets must be submitted

should most likely be

Tickets will be collected

This change isn't about grammar, but about choosing idiomatic words to go with "events" and "tickets".

Issue 3:

Finally, even with these changes the whole sentence still doesn't make sense. You don't go to an event and submit (or collect) a ticket - three hours after the event has ended. It's grammatical but nonsensical like "I turned off the television, to watch the program."

Unless you don't mean "ticket", but perhaps "voucher for a free meal", or something else.

By the way, it is possible to use "of" (which appeared in your original sentence) when discussing a time period. However, it doesn't go with "no longer".

If you get to the hospital within 3 hours of the first symptoms of an ischemic stroke, you may get a type of medicine called a thrombolytic.

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  • Nice breakdown. Exactly what I was looking for!
    – user121043
    Aug 23, 2020 at 16:13

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