in the class

[dido4]

Which one is correct?
He was absent in / on math class.
Thank you.

[Temico]

He was absent in / on for or during math class.

[danmahaffey]

He was absent in / on for or during math class.Better: He was absent from math class.

[Temico]

Better: He was absent from math class.

1) He was absent during maths class. = During maths class, he was absent.
2) He was absent for maths class. = For maths class, he was absent.
3) He was absent from maths class. = From maths class, he was absent. (????....)

[danmahaffey]

1) He was absent during maths class. = During maths class, he was absent.
2) He was absent for maths class. = For maths class, he was absent.
3) He was absent from maths class. = From maths class, he was absent. (????....)To be absent means to be away. By using the preposition from, I indicate where he should have been.

Sentence (1) tells us that during math(s) class our friend was elsewhere. It does not say that he should have been in the class.

Sentence (2) tells us that while we conducted math(s) class our friend was elsewhere. We still don't know if he should have been there.

Only sentence (3) conveys an obligation to be present.

Other examples:

1) He was absent during the opening ceremonies. He couldn't find a ticket, but he wasn't on the team, so it didn't matter.

2) He was absent for the birth of his third child. He was traveling abroad and couldn't return in time, but he wasn't giving birth anyway, so it didn't matter.

3) He was absent from his post. He will be court-martialed for being absent without leave.

It doesn't have to be as serious as (3). Absent merely means away. From is the right preposition if you want to specifiy where someone should have been. During and for only tell us what else was going on at the time.

A full example:
He was absent from the stage during the rehearsal for the director's instructions.

[Temico]

To be absent means to be away. By using the preposition from, I indicate where he should have been.

Sentence (1) tells us that during math(s) class our friend was elsewhere. It does not say that he should have been in the class.

Sentence (2) tells us that while we conducted math(s) class our friend was elsewhere. We still don't know if he should have been there.

Only sentence (3) conveys an obligation to be present.

Other examples:

1) He was absent during the opening ceremonies. He couldn't find a ticket, but he wasn't on the team, so it didn't matter.

2) He was absent for the birth of his third child. He was traveling abroad and couldn't return in time, but he wasn't giving birth anyway, so it didn't matter.

3) He was absent from his post. He will be court-martialed for being absent without leave.

It doesn't have to be as serious as (3). Absent merely means away. From is the right preposition if you want to specifiy where someone should have been. During and for only tell us what else was going on at the time.

A full example:
He was absent from the stage during the rehearsal for the director's instructions.

He was absent in / on math class.
I guess that we will have to leave it to dido4 to tell us what he actually intended to say with his original question because it does not imply that he "should have been" in maths class. BTW, there is a difference between "He skipped(=failed to attend) maths class." and "He was absent(=not present) during maths class."

[danmahaffey]

I guess that we will have to leave it to dido4 to tell us what he actually intended to say with his original question because it does not imply that he "should have been" in maths class. BTW, there is a difference between "He skipped(=failed to attend) maths class." and "He was absent(=not present) during maths class."True enough. In the U.S., students sometimes say they "ditched" a class. This colorful expression comes from to ditch meaning to toss something away. "Where was Bill?" "He ditched math to hang with his older brother who's back from the war."