"IN" と "LATER" の使い方が間違っている人が多いと感じます。皆さんはいかがですか？次の例のように話しているなら、注意が必要です。
A: When are your going to Hawaii?
B: I’m going two days later.
The problem is that if you are talking about an amount of time from now, you need to use "in":
B: I’m going in two days.
So then how do we use "later"? "Later" is a comparing word, similar to "bigger", "smaller", "shorter", "longer", etc. So to compare, we need at least two points in time, like Tuesday and three days after that:
B: My partner is leaving on Tuesday, and then I’m leaving three days later.
To be strictly correct, you can add “later than him,” but most communication doesn’t need this. The listener already understands.
There is a second meaning for later, and that’s in the future at an unspecified time. This is a very popular meaning, and you’ve probably used this before:
A: Are you going to eat lunch now?
B: No, I’m not hungry, I’ll eat later.
A: Oh, I’m starving. I’m going for lunch now.
B: Ok, see you later.
If you are one of the many people who have been making a mistake with this language, it will be tough to change your speaking habits. But, with daily practice, you’ll be able to do it in no time.
