Questions tagged [time]
For questions about expressing time in English.
466 questions
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"All X" vs "the whole X" usage with respect to time expressions
When it comes to expressions of time, when we say all day, all morning / evening / week, this means the same thing as the whole day, the whole morning, etc.
I know that all the time means frequently ...
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How do complex timelines about events that have happened multiple times throughout my life work?
Can I say something like
"Every time I have gone to that club, I have had a cocktail, and then returned back to the car I came in"
or would it be better to say
"Every time I have ...
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Leading zeros and punctuation in American English
I know it’s a matter of style, but I’d like to know the common one.
In the 12-hour system, I know it’s not recommended to use leading zeros, but I’m not sure about the punctuation. 4:00, 4.00, just 4? ...
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"Make certain of your flight times before you leave for the airport." — Why is "times" in plural? Why just not "time"?
merriam-webster.com:
(1a) Make certain of your flight times before you leave for the airport.
Why is "your flight times" in plural?
Using "times" seems odd to me here.
What context ...
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Barely: 'almost never'
Hardly and scarcely can mean ‘almost never’, but barely cannot. >Compare:
She hardly (ever) sees her parents these days.
But not She barely sees her parents these days.
https://www....
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How to say the time using the 24-hour system?
I’ve got a few questions about military time.
Is it zero or oh?
How do we say 0001? Zero hundred zero one hours?
Do we pronounce it differently if we insert a colon?
PS I’m referring to American ...
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"in my summer vacation" VS "on my summer vacation" (E.g.: "I want to put a little fun in/on my summer vacation.")
As far as I understood from forum.wordreference.com:
(1a) In my summer vacation, the weather was wonderful. — unnatural
(1b) On my summer vacation, the weather was wonderful. — natural
(2a) I want to ...
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Is there a context where the sentence "She ran in ten minutes." is correct?
the textbook "The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language", page 668:
(1) She ran in ten minutes. — incorrect
I'm curious about whether there is a context where (1) is correct. For ...
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"He went to New York for two weeks" is correct. But "She drove to Berlin for eight hours" is incorrect. Why? They look the same
CGEL, page 706:
(1) He went to New York for two weeks. — correct
CGEL, page 684:
(2) She drove to Berlin for eight hours. — incorrect
To me, (1) and (2) look the same.
Why is one incorrect, ...
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while he was watching the game
a. I was writing a letter for an hour while he was watching the game.
b. I was writing a letter for an hour**,** while he was watching the game.
Does the comma change the meaning?
In which case he was ...
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How can one know the starting time of time clause that uses since as its conjunction and a durative verb as its predicate?
How to determine the starting time of a sentence with this structure: have done sth since sth was done? Is there any rule about this?
For exmaple,
It has been 3 years since I worked in this company.
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Is there any common knowlege about inclusitivity-vs-exclusivity of ‘till/until’ time points?
Is it “common knowledge” agreed upon by all native speakers worldwide that the word till can variously be used both inclusive and also exclusive of its end point, depending on the context?
So for ...
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"imprisonment for ten years" VS "imprisonment of ten years" VS "ten years' imprisonment"
my own examples:
(1) imprisonment for ten years
(2) imprisonment of ten years
(3) ten years' imprisonment
As far as I understand, they are all correct.
What's the difference between them?
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Time clauses with present perfect
I will tell him that when I call him
I will tell him that when I have called him
I will eat a lot when I get to Spain
I will eat a lot when I have gotten to Spain
1 means that I will tell him ...
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Can we use time clauses with present perfect continuous
I will do it you when you come
I will do it when you are coming
I will do it when you have come
1 means after or during my coming. 2 means during my coming. 3 means after my coming.
What if I say &...