Lesson

More Than 24 Hours

Vocabulary for longer time periods

≈ 15 min 8 block(s)

Text

What does "More Than 24 Hours" mean?

"More than 24 hours" refers to any duration that exceeds a single 24-hour day. In business English this phrase and related expressions describe delivery times, outages, event lengths, or notice periods that last longer than one day.

  • Use it to indicate durations that go beyond one full day.
  • Common in logistics, IT incident reports, scheduling and deadlines.
  • There are several related expressions: two-day, 48-hour, multi-day, prolonged.

This lesson focuses on vocabulary and collocations used to express durations longer than a day.

Table

Common phrases for durations longer than 24 hours

Phrase Meaning Example
more than 24 hours A duration exceeding one 24-hour day The shipment will arrive in more than 24 hours.
48-hour Exactly or about two days (used in compounds) We require a 48-hour notice for cancellations.
two-day Spanning two days; used as a compound adjective The two-day conference starts Monday.
multi-day Spanning several days Our audit is a multi-day process.
prolonged Longer than expected; extended The prolonged outage affected client services.
overnight Often one night; sometimes implies the next day but not necessarily more than 24 hours Overnight shipping usually arrives the next business day.

Tip

Key rule: Duration expressions and prepositions

Use 'for' to state how long something lasts; use numeric compounds as adjectives before nouns.

  • Use 'for + duration' when describing the length of an event: The outage lasted for more than 24 hours.
  • Use numeric compounds with a hyphen before a noun: a 48-hour turnaround, a two-day workshop.
  • Without a noun, say the duration directly: The project took more than 24 hours.

Remember: 'for' + duration = how long; hyphens join numbers and nouns when used adjectivally.

Example

Examples in context

The delivery will arrive in more than 24 hours.

We scheduled a two-day workshop next month.

The server outage lasted more than 24 hours and affected operations.

Please give us 48-hour notice for cancellations.

Tip

Common mistakes to avoid

Learners often make predictable errors when expressing durations longer than a day. Watch for these.

  • Using 'since' instead of 'for' to express duration: 'since' requires a specific start point (e.g., since Monday).
  • Incorrect pluralization: say 'more than 24 hours' (not '24 hourses').
  • Wrong hyphenation: use a hyphen in 'two-day meeting' (adjective before noun) but not after the noun: 'the meeting lasted two days'.
  • Mixing up 'over' and 'more than' in formal writing—'more than' is safer in formal/business contexts.
  • Using incorrect prepositions: say 'arrive in more than 24 hours' for future arrival, but 'lasted for more than 24 hours' for duration.

Focus on prepositions, hyphens, and correct number agreement.

Quiz

Choose the correct sentence:

Hint: Check plural form and how to express a total duration.

Quiz

Complete: The server was down _____.

Hint: Think about the preposition used to describe how long something lasted.

Quiz

Choose the correct phrase to modify a noun:

Hint: Think about hyphenation and singular form inside compound adjectives.

Key Points

Vocabulary

more than 24 hours

expression CEFR B1 //mɔːr ðæn ˈtwɛnti fɔːr ˈaʊərz//

A duration that exceeds one full 24-hour day.

The outage lasted more than 24 hours, so we escalated the issue.

GrammarPoint

48-hour

adjective CEFR B2 //ˈfɔːrti eɪt ˈaʊər//

Used as a compound adjective to indicate a period of approximately two days or a two-day notice.

We require a 48-hour notice for any scheduling changes.

Vocabulary

two-day

adjective CEFR B1 //ˈtuː deɪ//

Describes something that spans two days; used with a hyphen before a noun.

The two-day seminar will cover compliance and reporting.

Vocabulary

multi-day

adjective CEFR B2 //ˌmʌltiˈdeɪ//

Extending over several days; used to describe projects, events, or processes that are not single-day.

The audit was a multi-day engagement requiring multiple teams.

Vocabulary

prolonged

adjective CEFR B2 //prəˈlɒŋd//

Extending for a long time; longer than expected or usual.

The company faced a prolonged delay in customs clearance.

Vocabulary

overnight

adverb / adjective CEFR B1 //ˈoʊvərnaɪt//

During the night or by the next day; often implies a short wait that may not exceed 24 hours.

Overnight delivery usually arrives the next business day.