A half an hour early/ half an hour early?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

I heard the following sentence:

  • We’ll be in Washington a half an hour early. Is this correct?

What do you say? @Anglophile, @Alan, @Torsten
Thanks in advance.

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2

I don’t think it is correct.
We are likely to say it in either of the following ways.

  1. We will be there in (another) half an hour.
  2. We will be there half an hour earlier (than the scheduled time).

(The usage ‘a half an hour’ is not common as far as I know)

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3

Agree completely. Certainly ‘in half an hour’ no article needed in this context.

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4

I suppose I’ve heard it this way, but I think the following are more common:
We’ll be in Washington a half hour early.
We’ll be in Washington half an hour early.

Basically, you’re taking “We’ll be in Washington an hour early” and inserting a “half” to modify it.

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5

Please note that half an hour means a half hour!
So, a half an hour is not correct!
I hope you will agree with us, @Masme.

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6

Please have a look at this:

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