I've seen people using the phrase once a year but I wonder isn't it should be once in a year. Are they both the same and acceptable?
Answer
There is a slight, but meaningful, difference.
"Once a [time period]" implies frequency observed over a range of time greater than [time period]. "Once in a [time period]" implies an observed frequency of 1 in a single [time period].
If somebody were to say something occurred once in a month then he means he is talking about an event with a time of a month. If someone says something occurs once a month then he definitely has data larger than a month.
Example:
My last boyfriend, Eric, would buy me flowers once a month! But John has only bought me flowers once in a year. Does John hate me or is he just less sentimental and thus will only buy flowers for year anniversaries?
Another example:
During the first year of our relationship, Phillip bought me flowers once a month. Why would he now only buy me flowers once in a year?
As FumbleFingers brings up in the comments, the "once in a [time period]" could instead be an application of figurative speech and not based on technical data. The following example shows a usage of the phrase that indicates exaggerated speech is at play.
Wow! That's rare; it only happens once in a blue moon!
This is perhaps more indicative of a common idiom but still important to bring up.
To slightly elaborate on what was established above, it may not be obvious that the phrase "once in a [time period]" can be used to establish a cap on repetitions in a [time period]. See below.
Alice: "So, he goes to Mexico 10 times a year?"
Bob: "Yes, but never twice in the same month; he only goes once in a month."
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