The Difference Between に and で when indicating the time when something terminates


I was reading through the **Dictionary of Basic Grammar** and found that one
of the four usages of the で particle is to mark the time when something
terminates, similar to the following sentence:

> パーティーは 17時で 終わる。

It goes on to say that the に particle can often be used in place of で in this
type of situation, and says that the nuance is that the に particle simply
marks the end of the party, whereas で implies that the party lasts up to that
point. To me, this seems a little ambiguous, since for something to end, it
needs to last for a period of time. However, I might be misreading something.

Asking around to a few natives, it seems like there doesn't actually seem to
be too much difference in connotation. Someone said that using で sounds more
assertive / forceful like the party will end no matter what at that time.

In general, で is used to mark the means or way that something is done, while に
marks the place of a state or a point being traveled to. So, with my limited
experience I feel like when you use で it has a feeling that the time brought
an end to something whether or not it was ready to finish. Meanwhile, if you
used に it simply means that it finished at that time and doesn't carry anymore
connotation to it.

Is that about it or is there another difference between the use of these two
particles in this context?




I partly agree with the statement that _using で sounds more assertive /
forceful like the party will end no matter what at that time_.

I think particle-で emphasises the feeling of “the last”.

今日 **で** 仕事は終わりだ。(Today is my **last** day of work.)

This may not be the right answer, but just for your reference!

