Time expression

Language Study

1. Prepositions of time
a) at a specific time	at 8 o’clock, at3.30, at midnight
on a day	on Monday, on July 14, on the second time
in a period	in the morning, in April, in 1995
there are exceptions:	at Christmas, at Easter at the weekend, atnight
b) for + a period of time	I’ve worked in officefor 6 months.
since + a point of time	I’ve worked in officesinceMay.
for ages = for a long time	I’ve known my dentist for ages.
during some period	during the war, during the summer, during 1990
throughout the whole period	It rained throughout the night.
in several days = several days from now	I’m going back to Spain in ten days.
c) until = after	I will stay here until she phones me.
until = at, up to	I will be in the office until 4 o’clock.
by = not later than	I will arrive in the officeby 4 o’clock (or bylunchtime).
2. Adverbs
recently = lately = in the last few months / weeks	I haven’t seen Tom recently / lately.
a long time ago = far back in the past	Prince Alexander Nevsky lived a long time ago.
the other day = a few days ago	My sister went to the country the other day.
3. Adjectives
temporary = lasting for only a limited period of time	temporary work
permanent = continuing for a long time, all future time	permanent job
timeless = continuing for ever	timeless universe
eternal = a time (vague, indefinite)	eternal flame
provisional = existing only a short time (indefinite)	provisional government
4. Nouns
fortnight = 2 weeks	I’m going away for a fortnight’s holiday.
decade = 10 years	A decade ago Krakow was not ready for its role as a vibrant cultural centre.
century = 100 years	Spain belonged to the Mediterranean by 8 centuries of Moslem conquest.
age = a historical / geological period	the Ice Age; the MiddleAges
era = a long period	the era of computers
period = a very general word for time limits	Van Gogh’s early period
spell = an indefinite but a short period	a brief spell in the army
5. Time expressions:
for the time being (= for now)	You should stay in bed for the time being.
at times = sometimes but not usually	He can’t get a bit bad-tempered at time.s
by the time = the particular moment when something happens	By the time we get home this pizza will be cold.
at a time =separately	One at a time, please! I can’t serve you all together.
on time= at correct time	The trains are never on time.
time and time again = very often	I’ve told you time and time again not to ring me at the office.
6. Time words:
tomorrow today yesterday morning afternoon evening hour minute second	Tomorrow’s meeting has been cancelled. Have you still got last Saturday’s /Monday’s, /yesterday’s,/ today’s, /this evening’s newspaper? I need eight hours’ sleep a night. My house is very near here – only about.five minutes’ walk. I'll come back in seconds' period.
7. Verbs
It takes	It takes 12 hours to fly Singapore.
Last / run	The battery of the radio usually lasts about 3 or 4 months. The videotape runs for three hours.
Go on (= continue)	The meeting went on for two hours.
Note:	Take your time, please

Ex. 19. Read the sentences paying attention to the underlined time expressions.

1. Last year, Russia made just four civilian aircraft.

2. Heathrow has been operating as an international airport since 1 January 1946.

3. Like all the great airports, it dates back only to the last days of the second Word War.

4. There will be a fifteen-minute rest stop at that time.

5. You can wine and dine throughout the early hours.

6. We are scheduled to arrive in Dallas at 1:45 this afternoon.

7. For your comfort as well as safety, seat belts must be fastened during take-off and landing.

8. Then again, for better or for worse, cruising today isn't what it used to be – not even five years ago.

9. Itthen becomes more difficult to target yourself to a segment, at a time when you’re growing rapidly and need to fill capacity.

10. A plan to rescue the sector, which was once the largest aircraft producers in the world, will be submitted in eight weeks.

11. Nowadays they can include activities as trucking in the Malaysian jungle, catching fish in the fjords, landing on a mighty glacier (= ледник) or clambering over the Greek mountains.

Ex. 20. Replace the underlined time expressions with more “approximate” time expression. Pay attention to Grammar. Listen and check.

e.g. This dictionary will be OK for the time being.

1. I went to the library a few days ago.

2. I haven’t been to a concert for a very long time.

3. I haven’t been to the country in the last few weeks.

4. I went to Egypt with my parents but that was a decade ago.

5. The pilot will have flown the plane not later than 9 in the morning.

6. After the time we get home this pizza will be cold.

7. The tradition of sea cruising began 100 years ago.

8. This dictionary will be OK for now.

Ex. 21. Complete the text with the prepositions of time. Listen and check.

There’s one bus from London which gets here ________ ten o’clock _______ the morning and then another which gets in ________ four o’clock _______ the afternoon. That’s ________ weekdays, but ________ the weekend the timetable is a bit different. _______ Saturday there are still two buses but the second one arrives _______ five thirty; ________ Sunday there is just the one bus _______ two o’clock. And ______ the winter, the service doesn’t run at all _______ Sundays.

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