17 Useful Time Phrases in English

It’s difficult to have a conversation about anything in English without mentioning time.  But with so many ways to talk about time, it’s easy to get confused.

Here are some very common and useful examples of English expressions which use the word “time”.

Contents

When people say they were on time for something, it means they arrived at the right time – not too late (or early). We usually say on time to describe arriving for planned events, meetings, schedules or shows.

Make sure you get to work on time – don’t be late!

When you say you arrived in time to see or do something, it means you arrived before the time that you were supposed to arrive. And, because you arrived early, you did something else with the extra time you had.

We can say “(just) in time” with:

Meaning 1: To arrive early and have some extra time to experience something else:

If you say you arrived just in time to do something, it means you managed to do something at the very last moment – and you feel happy – and lucky about it!

We got to the theatre (just) in time to buy a brochure and some popcorn!

Meaning 2. Arriving or doing something a few moments before or exactly at the right moment (a lucky strike or a coincidence)

Oh, Hi – Have you come to see Jack? – Well, you’re just in time – he came back two minutes ago!

We say: “by the time” to express finishing a task before a deadline or expected endpoint:

This floor is really dirty. Can someone clean it by the time I get back from the bank, please?

We can also use “by the time” to contrast a long, completed action (perhaps a journey) with a shorter state or action:

By the time we got to the airport, we were exhausted and hungry.

We often drop the “It’s..” when we use this phrase, which means we’ve reached a deadline:

It’s five o’clock everyone – time to go home! (It’s time to…)

(It’s) time for dinner – I’m starving!

When we say “have time for” or “have time to” , it means ” have enough time”. In other words, we want to do something (quickly) before some kind of deadline or event that we don’t want to be late for. Maybe you want to have a quick nap (sleep) before a party, or say goodbye to someone before you leave.

A: Have we got time for one more drink? (the pub is about to close)B: Yeah, I think we have time to have another one.

We often use the best time to give recommendations:

I think the best time to visit London is at Christmas.

A bad time in this context means “inconvenient”. Is this a bad time? is an informal fixed phrase which means: “I want to talk to you, but I guess you may be busy, so if you prefer, we can speak another time”. We often use this phrase, or, “Have I caught you at a bad time?” when calling friends or work colleagues:

A: Hi, is it OK to talk now, or have I caught you at a bad time? B: Yeah, I’m actually a bit busy right now – could you maybe call back in a couple of minutes –is that ok?A: Sure, no worries.

These time phrases are very common in spoken English. they are all very useful for talking about past or future events:

(The) last time I was in London was twelve years ago.=(It was twelve years ago that I was in London / I haven’t been to London for 12 years)

Next time we’re in New York, we should visit the Guggenheim Museum.

The only time I saw Pete wearing a tie was on his wedding day!

Phrases like: a good time /a bad time/ a great time, etc in this context mean “a good / bad / great experience”.

A: How was your holiday?B: Oh yeah, thanks, it was amazing. We had a great time! OR B: Oh don’t ask! The pool was filthy and the kids all got ill. We had a terrible time!

Form: We had a + good / great / amazing / terrible / brilliant / dreadful time

A: When’s lunchtime? I’m starving!B: At one o’clock – not long to go!

Mum: It’s bedtime, now, so switch off the TV!Kids: Oh, Muuuum!

We usually spend time with people:

Jeff’s a family man – he likes to spend time with his family.

We can also spend time doing activities (spend + time word + -ing form of verb)

A: What kinds of things do you usually get up to at weekends?B: Oh, I usually spend my weekends playing video games or watching Netflix.

A: What did you do last night?B: I spent most of the evening driving back home from Scotland.

Waste time means using your time in a pointless or unproductive way, when you could be doing something more useful instead.

You can waste time (on its own) or you can waste time + a specific activity: don’t waste time playing video games. In this case, we need the -ing form of the verb:

Don’t waste time talking to people you don’t like.

She’s always wasting time chatting.

a waste of time is a noun phrase. We can use this expression with such to add emphasis:

Waiting in traffic is (such) a waste of time!It’s (such) a waste of time waiting in traffic, isn’t it?

Other possible alternatives: a real / massive / terrible / huge waste of time / such a waste of time

We can use save time in various different ways in spoken English sentences:

Sometimes I take the bus to work to save time.

Taking the bus to work saves time.

You can save a bit of time by jumping in a taxi, if you prefer.

When you kill time, you do something to help the time pass when you are in a boring situation, like waiting for a bus or standing in a queue:

Sometimes when I’m on the train, I do a crossword just to kill time.

I often like to kill time on long journeys by playing games on my phone.

When someone tells you to take your time, it means you don’t need to rush. You might tell someone to take their time so that they don’t ruin a job or task by doing it too quickly.

There’s no need to rush the painting – just take your time!