Hi everyone, can you please tell me what exactly the difference is between ‘at this of year’ vs. ‘at this time of the year’? I’ve just come across the following phrase and wonder if ‘at this time of the year’ would work too:
It’s still early when Leroy Minor heads into the poverty-stricken of Nairobi to deliver fresh produce. It’s pouring with rain which is unusual at this time of year but climate change is affecting Kenya’s normal weather patterns.
Many thanks in advance 
Hi Torsten,
‘At this time of year’ basically means ‘now or where we are now’. It would be used in a very general way as in -
At this time of year I usually turn the central heating off. But if you are not able to do what you normally do, you highlight the unusualness of the situation by using the definite article. That way you suggest that things are different nowadays. So we have-
At this time of the year I usually turn the central heating off but life is different these days as global warming has made everything topsy-turvy and I’ll have to see what the weather is doing.
I’ve rambled a bit but I hope that helps.
Hi Alan, thank you so much for your immediate response. I greatly enjoy what you call ‘your rambling’ 
