Is it normal to use ‘the second’ without a preposition in expressing ‘as soon as” or ‘no later than’?

Question

I saw the following sentence in Time magazine’s (December 3) article titled “Betraying physical book: A book lover’s e-dilemma:> “When electronic books first came out, I embraced them wholeheartedly.> In fact, I was one of the first to buy Amazon’s Kindle electronic book> reader **the second** it was available.”Is “the second” used adverbially? What is the function of ‘the second’ as a part of speech in this instance? Is it common to drop a preposition (in or at) before ‘the second (minute, moment, or instant)’ in expressing simultaneity?

Answer 1

”The second” refers to “when,” which makes this word an adverb of time. Often, the preposition does not need to be stated and is implied. Think of some other examples, “The moment my teacher walked into the room and looked at me with a smile on her face, I knew some good news was in store.” Adverbs indicating time do not need a preposition. Think of “yesterday” or “today.” However, “at 2 p.m.” is a prepositional phrase that functions as an adverb. “This morning” obviously does not need a preposition. But “in the morning,” which is an adverbial phrase, does.