[Typo] - MSQ Lv. 95 | Road to the Golden City

[Sylfaire]

" Alphinaud: Even as we speak, she prepares for the ascension ceremony back at the palace. I'm given to understand it will be held in a few days time."

Should be: "days' time" with an apostrophe (used to show ownership of the 'time' belonging to the 'days').

[Rongway]

As the writers often choose to use rules from English as it is spoken and written in the Commonwealth, "days time" with no apostrophe is probably intentional, and correct. It is not time that belongs to days; it is days as a measure of time. Here is an excerpt from the Australian Government style manual:

Australian Government Style Manual: Apostrophes

Don’t use an apostrophe for periods of time

Noun phrases about plural time periods don’t need apostrophes because they’re usually descriptive, not possessive.

In phrases such as ‘6 months retired’ or ‘5 months pregnant’, the time periods are clearly adjectival. They don’t show possession.

Other noun phrases aren’t possessive because they are conversational shorthand for an ‘of’ phrase. For example, ‘in 4 days time’ is shorthand for ‘in 4 days of time’.

Some styles use an apostrophe to stand for the word ‘of’ and don't use it for descriptive phrases. For many years, the Style Manual has recommended the simple rule of no apostrophe for either use.

[Iscah]

As the writers often choose to use rules from English as it is spoken and written in the Commonwealth, "days time" with no apostrophe is probably intentional, and correct. It is not time that belongs to days; it is days as a measure of time. Here is an excerpt from the Australian Government style manual:

Australian Government Style Manual: Apostrophes

I disagree with those examples being equivalent – the first two are describing a person's state (he has been retired for six months, she is five months pregnant) but the event is in a few days' time – which I would take to be "the [amount of] time of a few days" rather than "a few days [of] time". The apostrophe indicates that the days possess that amount of time.

The also Australian and government-run ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) style guide takes this stance:

If a period of time modifies a noun, use an apostrophe: he was sentenced to 10 years’ jail, she is taking six weeks’ holiday. Or rewrite the phrase: he was sentenced to 10 years in jail, she is taking six weeks off. No apostrophes when the time period is adverbial: two weeks old, six months pregnant.