What's the difference between the following
1.You will have received it by Monday.
2.On Monday, you will have already received it.
What is the difference between the two? To me both are different ways of telling the same thing.
Thank you
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By moving Monday to the front you're placing more emphasis on the specific day (which might be more appropriate if the preceding conversation focuses on specific days). Including the word already also places more emphasis on the idea that you'll receive it before Monday (otherwise the other person might suppose that it could arrive sometime on Monday, rather than having been already delivered before that day starts).– FumbleFingersCommented Aug 7, 2016 at 13:01
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@FumbleFingers does #1 mean that the latest time one can receive is including Monday and no later than the midnight on Monday. Am I right?– shikha jiCommented Aug 7, 2016 at 13:48
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People will have different opinions on whether by Monday implies delivery will be some time before Monday, or anywhen up to and including all (or part of) Monday. That's why hard-pressed developers like to use this form, because it gives them a bit more "wiggle room" (and also why I said the other person might suppose a later delivery). If the customer wants to clarify, he'll end up asking something like Do you mean first thing Monday, or perhaps sometime after I've left work (which will be too late)?– FumbleFingersCommented Aug 7, 2016 at 13:53
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1 Answer
There are many differences between the sentences. Let's go through a few.
You will have received it by Monday.
The thing that's tricky about this sentence is that it has the future perfect tense (i.e. suggesting actions that will be done, but haven't been done yet, but should (ideally) be completed within a certain time frame).
It means that someone promised you you'd receive it by Monday, and he's already thinking about what happens after that point. The 'by' here makes it tricky too by implying "at least, at no later than, not after," and as a result, means that you can start working on something else or be expectant of other conditions that arise due to its arrival.
On Monday, you will have already received it.
This implies that when Monday happens (it hasn't happened yet, but it will), it will be there. It specifies the range of time which could be long down to a small one, suggesting that someone has done their work ahead of time, and therefore you are able to receive it by the time Monday happens.
If you want to read more on this subject, I suggest the following two websites:
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"It means that someone promised you you'd receive it by Monday, and he's already thinking about what happens after that point." So here the point from where the sentence is looked upon is either the midnight of Monday or sometime later than that. Right? Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 16:03