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June 21, 2010 1:44 pm
Since moving to St. Louis, I've noticed people using the word "whenever" to mean a specific instance. For example, "I saw him whenever I went to the library," could refer to seeing a friend during one specific trip to the library, rather than seeing him at every trip to the library. At first I thought that it meant they couldn't remember when they went to the library, but that doesn't necessarily seem to be true. Is anyone familiar of this use of "whenever" to mean "when"?
2 Replies
June 23, 2010 2:07 am
My wife, from Houston Tx, and her siblings use "whenever" that way a lot. I'm from Reno, NV and am used to "whenever" meaning "any time", not "that one time".
July 14, 2010 9:16 am
Thanks! I've now heard it from an Oklahoman too, so a geographic swath appears to be emerging!