“What Day Was It Yesterday?” vs. “What Day Was Yesterday?”: What’s the Difference?
Jun 10, 2023
Engram
The difference between “what day was it yesterday?” and “what day was yesterday?”
Both "What day was it yesterday?" and "What day was yesterday?" are grammatically correct and can be used to inquire about the day that occurred before the current day.
However, the more common and idiomatic phrasing is "What day was yesterday?"
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What is the definition of “what day was it yesterday?” and “what day was yesterday?”?
What day was it yesterday?
This is a complete question which requires an answer indicating the day that preceded today.
It is used when someone wants to know the specific date of the day before today.
The question suggests that the person asking may have forgotten the date the day before.
What day was yesterday?
This is a shorter version of the question above without the auxiliary verb "was it."
It is similarly used to inquire what day occurred before today.
This question assumes that the listener knows and remembers that yesterday happened.
Which is the more popular variant on the Internet?
“What day was yesterday?” is the more popular variant on the web.
What day was it yesterday?
126,000 results on the web
Examples
What day was it yesterday? I can't remember if I missed my appointment.
What day was it yesterday? I need to log it in my planner.
What day was it yesterday? My friend's birthday might have passed already.
More popular
What day was yesterday?
258,000 results on the web
Examples
What day was yesterday? I forgot to greet my coworker for their work anniversary.
What day was yesterday? I lost track of time, and I need to check my schedule.
What day was yesterday? I remember having a busy day, but I can't recall which day it was.
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