Frequency and duration - Adjuncts of frequency

Frequency and duration

113 When indicating how often something happens, or how long it lasts or takes, units of time are often used:

'Fortnight' is used only in the singular. 'Moment' is not used with numbers because it does not refer to a precise period of time, so you cannot say for example 'It took five moments'.

Words for periods of the day, days of the week, months of the year, and seasons are also used, such as 'morning', 'Friday', 'July', and 'winter'.

Clock times may also be used.

Adjuncts of frequency

114 Some adverbs and adverbial expressions indicate approximately how many times something happens:

We often swam in the surf in front of our seaside cottages.

Sometimes I wish I was back in Africa.

We were always being sent home.

He blinked a lot.

'Never' is a negative adverb.

She never goes abroad.

'Ever' is only used in questions, negative clauses, and 'if'-clauses.

Have you ever been to a concert?

'Much' is usually used with 'not'.

The men didn't talk much to each other.

Some adverbs of frequency such as 'often' and 'frequently' can also be used in the comparative and superlative

Disasters can be prevented more often than in the past.

I preached much more often than that.

They cried for their mothers less often than might have been expected.

the mistakes which women make most frequently.

115 To indicate how many times something happens, you can use a specific number, 'several', or 'many' followed by 'times'.

We had to ask three times.

It's an experience I've repeated many times since.

He carefully aimed his rifle and fired several times.

If the number you are using is 'one' you use 'once' (not 'one time') in this structure. If it is 'two' you can use 'twice'.

I've been out with him once, that's all.

The car broke down twice.

If something happens regularly, you can say how many times it happens within a period of time by adding 'a' and a word referring to a period of time.

The group met once a week.

You only have a meal three times a day.

The committee meets twice a year.

You can also use a frequency expression such as 'once' with a unit of time preceded by 'every' to say that something happens a specified number of times and on a regular basis within that unit of time.

The average Briton moves house once every seven and a half years.

We meet twice every Sunday.

Three times every day, he would come to the kiosk to see we were all right.

If an event happens regularly during a specific period of the day, you can use the period of day instead of 'times':

I used to go in three mornings a week.

He was going out four and sometimes five nights a week.

A regular rate or quantity can also be expressed by adding 'a' and a general time word. 'Per' can be used instead of 'a', especially in technical contexts.

They again ordered him to pay ten shillings a month.

I was only getting three hours of sleep a night.

rising upwards at the rate of 300 feet per second.

He hurtles through the air at 600 miles per hour.

estimating frequency 116 If you want to be less precise about how frequently something happens, you can use one of the following approximating adverbs or approximating expressions: 'almost', 'about', 'nearly', 'or so', 'or less', and 'or more'.

You can use 'almost' and 'about' in front of 'every'.

In the last month of her pregnancy, we took to going out almost every evening.

You can also use 'almost' in front of '-ly' time adverbs derived from general time words:

Small scale confrontations occur almost daily in many states.

'Or so', 'or less', and 'or more' are used after frequency expressions, but not after adverbs of frequency.

Every hour or so, my shoulders would tighten.

If you are studying part-time (21 hours or less a week) you can claim supplementary benefit.

regular intervals 117 If you want to say that something happen at regular intervals, you can use 'every' followed by either a general or a specific unit of time. 'Each' is sometimes used instead of 'every'.

We'll go hunting every day.

You get a lump sum and you get a pension each week.

Some people write out a new address book every January.

'Every' can also be used with a number and the plural of the unit of time.

Every five minutes the phone would ring.

The regular or overage rate or quantity of something can also be expressed using 'every' and 'each'.

One fighter jet was shot down every hour.

Academy schools send about 200 to the kiln every fortnight.

6.118 If something happens during one period of time but not during the next period, then happens again during the next, and so on, you can use 'every other' followed by a unit of time of a specific time word. 'Every second' is sometimes used instead of 'every other'.

We wrote every other day.

Their local committees are usually held every other month.

He used to come and take them out every other Sunday.

It seemed easier to shave only every second day.

Prepositional phrases with 'alternate' and a plural time word can also be used.

On alternate Sunday nights, I tell the younger children a story.

Just do some exercises on alternate days at first.

119 The adverbs 'first', 'next', and 'last' are used to indicate the stage at which an event takes place.

The adverb 'first', the noun group 'the first time', and the prepositional phrase 'for the first time' can indicate the first occurrence of an event.

He was, I think, in his early sixties when I first encountered him.

They had seen each other first a week before, outside this hotel.

the tactical war games which were first fought in Ancient Greece.

It rained heavily twice while I was out. The first time I sheltered in a copse, but the second time l galloped through it.

For the first time Anne Marie felt frightened.

The repetition of an event or situation that has not happened for a long time can be indicated by using 'for the first time' with 'in' and the plural form of a general time word.

Diesel is cheaper than petrol in Britain for the first time in years.

You're alone for the first time in months.

A future occurrence is indicated by 'next time' or 'the next time'.

Don't do it again. I mightn't forgive you next time.

The next time I come here, I'm going to be better.

The use of 'next' with statements referring to the future is described in paragraph 62.

The most recent occurrence of an event can be indicated by using 'last' as an adverb or the noun groups 'last time' or 'the last time'.

He seemed to have grown a lot since he last wore it.

He could not remember when he had last eaten.

When did you last see him?

You did so well last time.

The final occurrence can be indicated by 'for the last time'.

For the last time he waved to the three friends who watched from above.

The use of 'last' in statements about the past is described in paragraph 41.

You can also use 'before', 'again', and noun groups with an ordinal and 'time' to say whether an event is a first occurrence, or one that has happened before.

You can use 'before' with a perfect tense to indicate whether something is happening for the first time or is a repeated occurrence.

I've never been in a policeman's house before.

He's done it before.

The adverb 'again' can be used to indicate a second or subsequent occurrence of an event. Ordinals can be used with 'time', in noun groups or in more formal prepositional phrases with 'for', to specify a particular occurrence of a repeated event.

Someone rang the front door bell. He stood and listened and heard it ring again and then a third time.

'We have no reliable information about that yet,' he found himself saying for the third time.

'-ly' time adverbs 120 Some general time words can be changed into adverbs by adding '-ly' and used to indicate the frequency of an event.

Note the spelling of 'daily'. The adverb 'annually' and the adjective 'annual' have the same meaning as 'yearly'.

It was suggested that we give each child an allowance yearly or monthly to cover all he or she spends.

Scotland too has an Executive Committee which meets monthly.

The same words can be used as adjectives.

To this, we add a yearly allowance of 600 towards repairs Mutual help is best done on an hourly basis.

They had a long-standing commitment to making a weekly cash payment to mothers.

prepositional phrases 121 Prepositional phrases with plural forms of specific time words can also be used to indicate frequency. For example, 'on' can be used with days of the week, 'during' and 'at' with 'weekends'.

We've had teaching practice on Tuesdays and lectures on Thursdays.

She does not need help with the children during week-ends.

We see each other at week-ends.

'In' is used with periods of the day, except 'night'.

I can't work full time. I only work in the afternoons, I have lectures in the mornings.

Harry Truman loved to sit in an old rocking chair in the evenings and face the lawns behind the White House.

development and regular occurrence 122 To indicate that something develops gradually, or happens at regular intervals, you can use a general time word with 'by' followed by the same general time word.

She was getting older year by year, and lonelier, and more ridiculous.

Millions of citizens follow, day by day, the unfolding of the drama.

Gradual development can also be indicated by the adverbs 'increasingly' and 'progressively'.

the computers and information banks upon which our world will increasingly depend.

His conduct became increasingly eccentric.

As disposable income rises, people become progressively less concerns with price.

Adjuncts of duration

123 The following section explains ways of indicating now long something lasts or takes.

Some adverbs and adverbial expressions can be used to indicate the duration of an event or state. Here is a list of adverbs which are used to indicate duration:

She glanced briefly at Lucas Simmonds.

You won't live for ever.

The flat had been let to them by one of Daisy's friends who was temporarily in America.

'Briefly' and 'permanently' can be used in the comparative.

This new revelation had much the same outward effect, though more briefly.

Urging them reduces the appetite further and more permanently.

The form 'long' is only used as an adverb in negative clauses, and questions.

I haven't been in England long.

How long does it take on the train?

In positive clauses, it is used in expressions such as 'a long time' and prepositional phrases such as 'for a long time'. However, the comparative and superlative forms 'longer' and 'longest' can be used in positive and negative clauses.

Then of course you'll go win Parry. She's been your friend longer.

I've been thinking about it a lot longer than you.

She remained the longest.

In affirmative and negative 'if'-clauses, you can use 'for long'.

If she's away for long we won't be able to wait.

124 However, prepositional phrases are more commonly used. The following prepositions are used in adjuncts of duration:

The prepositional object can be a noun group referring to a specific period of time. This can be in the singular after the determiner 'a' (or 'one' for emphasis), or in the plural after a number or quantifier.

The noun group can also refer to an indefinite period, for example expressions such as 'a long time', 'a short while', 'a while', or 'ages', or plural time words such as 'hours'.

'for' for length of time 125 The preposition 'for' indicates how long something continues to happen.

Is he still thinking of going away to Italy for a month?

The initial battle continued for an hour.

This precious happy time lasted for a month or two.

The machine was completely immobilized for ten minutes.

We were married for fifteen years.

I didn't speak for a long time.

She would have liked to sit for a while and think.

You use 'the' instead of 'a' when the period of time is already known with seasons, periods of the day, and 'weekend', or when you modify the time word with words like 'past', 'coming', 'following', 'next', 'last', or an ordinal.

Tell Aunt Elizabeth you're off for the day.

We've been living together for the past year.

For the first month or two I was bullied constantly.

For the next few days he remained prone on his bed in his quarters.

Put them in cold storage for the winter.

I said I'm off to Brighton for the weekend.

Remember that you do not use a determiner with special periods of the year.

At least come for Christmas.

126 'For' can also be used with specific time expressions to indicate the time when something is to be used, not how long it takes of lasts.

Everything was placed exactly where I wanted it for the morning.

127 'For' can also be used in negative statement when you want to say that something need not or will not happen until a certain period of time has passed. 'Yet' is often added.

It won't be ready to sail for another three weeks.

I don't have to decide for a month yet.

'for' for emphasis 128 'For' is used with a plural noun group to emphasize how long something lasts.

Settlers have been coming here for centuries.

I don't think he's practised much for years.

I've been asking you about these doors for months.

USAGE NOTE 129 You can also use a general time word with 'after' followed by the same general time word to emphasize that a state continues for a long time or that an action is repeated continuously for a long time.

A village sees the same hands century after century.

They can go on making losses, year after year, without fearing that they will go bust.

'in' and 'within' for end of a period 130 'In' is used to indicate that something happens or will happen before the end of a certain period of time. In more formal English 'within' is used.

Can we get to the airport in an hour?

That coat must have cost you more than I make in a year.

The face of a city can change completely in a year.

Some may form the basis of a new anti-Aids drug within a year or two.

131 'In' and 'within' are also used to indicate that something only took or takes a short time.

The clouds evaporated in seconds.

What an expert can do in minutes may take you hours to accomplish.

Within a few months, the barnyard had been abandoned.

132 'For' and 'in' can be used in negative statements to say that something does not happen during a period of time. You can use them in this way with specific units of time, and with more general time references.

He hadn't had a proper night's steep for a month.

I haven't seen a chart for forty years!

The team had not heard from Stabler in a month.

He hasn't slept in a month.

I haven't seen him for years.

Let's have a dinner party. We haven't had one in years.

I haven't fired a gun in years.

133 Note that with the verbs 'last', 'wait', and 'stay', which have duration as part of their meaning, the adjunct of duration can be a noun group instead of a prepositional phrase with 'for'.

The campaign lasts four weeks at most.

His speech lasted for exactly 14 and a half minutes.

'Wait a minute,' the voice said.

He stayed a month, five weeks, six weeks.

The verbs 'take' and 'spend' can also indicate duration but the adjunct of duration can only be a noun group.

It took me a month to lose that feeling of being a spectator.

What once took a century now took only ten months.

He spent five minutes washing and shaving.

134 If you want to be less precise about now long something lasts, you can use one of the following approximating adverbs or approximating expressions: 'about', 'almost', 'nearly', 'around', 'more than', 'less than', and so on.

The family had controlled the time for more than a century.

They have not been allowed to form unions for almost a decade.

The three of us travelled around together for about a month that summer.

In less than a year, I learned enough Latin to pass the entrance exam.

He had been in command of HMS Churchill for nearly a year.

When making a general statement about the duration of something, you can indicate the maximum period of time that it will fast or take by using 'up to'.

Refresher training for up to one month each year was the rule for all.

You can also use expressions such as 'or so', 'or more', 'or less', 'or thereabouts' to make the duration less specific.

He has been writing about tennis and golf for forty years or so.

Our species probably practised it for a million years or more.

hopes which have prevailed so strongly for a century or more.

'Almost', 'about', 'nearly', and 'thereabouts' are also used when talking about when an event takes place; see paragraph 99 for details of this.

Indicating the whole of a period

135 If you want to emphasize that something lasts for the whole of a period of time, you can use 'all' as a determiner with many general time words.

'I've been warning to do this all day,' she said.

I've been here all night.

They said you were out all afternoon.

We've not seen them all summer.

You can also use 'whole' as a modifier in front of a general time word.

They forecast a fall in profits for the whole of 1989.

scientists who are monitoring food safely the whole time.

women who have stopped menstruating for a whole year.

You can also use 'all through', 'right through', and 'throughout' with 'the' and many general time words, of with a specific decade, year, month, or special period.

Discussions and arguments continued all through the day.

Right through the summer months they are rarefy out of sight.

Throughout the Sixties, man's first voyage to other worlds came closer.

Words referring to events can be used instead of the time words, to emphasize that something happened for the entire duration of the event.

He wore an expression of angry contempt throughout the interrogation.

A patient reported a dream that had recurred throughout her life.

All through the cruelly long journey home, he lay utterly motionless.

136 If you want to emphasize that something happens all the time, you can list periods of the day or seasons of the year, or mention contrasting ones.

people coming in morning, noon, and night.

I've worn the same suit summer, winter, autumn and spring, for five years.

Thousands of slave labourers worked night and day to build the fortifications.

Ten gardeners used to work this land, winter and summer.

Indicating the start or end of a period

start time 137 You can also indicate how long a situation lasts by using prepositional phrases to give the time when it begins or the time when it ends, or both.

If you want to talk about a situation that began in the past and is continuing now, or to consider a period of it from a time in the past to the present, you use the preposition 'since' with a time expression or an event to indicate when the situation began. The verb is in the present perfect tense.

I've been here since twelve o'clock.

I haven't had a new customer in here since Sunday.

Some 850 firemen have been laid off since April.

I haven't been out since Christmas.

He has not won a major championship since 197

There has been no word of my friend since the revolution.

'Since' is also used to indicate the beginning of situations that ended in the past. The verb is in the past perfect tense.

I'd been working in London since January at a firm called Kendalls.

He hadn't prayed once since the morning.

I'd only had two sandwiches since breakfast.

'Since' can also be used with other prepositional phrases that indicate a point in time.

I haven't seen you since before the summer.

The noun group after 'since' can sometimes refer to a person or thing rather than a time or event, especially when used with a superlative, 'first' or 'only', or with a negative.

The last government was the greatest tragedy in our history since Henry the Eighth.

I have never had another dog since Jonnie.

138 The time when a situation began can also be indicated by using the preposition 'from' and adding the adverb 'on' or 'onwards'. The noun group can be a date, an event, or a period. The verb can be in the simple past tense or in a perfect tense.

the history of British industry from the mid sixties on.

From the eighteenth century on, great private palaces went up.

But from the mid-1960s onwards the rate of public welfare spending has tended to accelerate.

The family size starts to influence development from birth.

They never perceived that they themselves had forced women into this role from childhood.

the guide who had been with us from the beginning.

139 You can also use the preposition 'after' to give the time when a situation began.

They don't let anybody in after six o'clock.

After 1929 I concentrated on canvas work.

He'd have a number of boys to help him through the summer-time but after October he'd just have the one.

140 Similarly, if you want to say that a situation continues for some time and then stop, you can indicate the time when it stops by using the preposition 'until' with a time expression or an event.

The school was kept open until ten o'clock five nights a week.

They danced and laughed and talked until dawn.

She walked back again and sat in her room until dinner.

I've just discovered she's only here until Sunday.

He had been willing to wait until the following Summer.

Until the third century A.D. female slaves were below the law.

Until that meeting, most of us knew very little about him.

'Until' can also be used in negative clauses to say that something did not or will not happen before a particular time.

We won't get them until September.

My plane does not leave until tomorrow morning.

No one I knew had cars until the twenties.

It won't happen for many good months to come-probably not until the spring.

'Until' can also be used with other prepositional phrases that indicate a point in time.

The Court had resolved to wait until after Christmas to propose to Gertrude.

Some people use 'till' instead of 'until', especially in informal English.

Sometimes I lie in bed till nine o'clock.

'Up to' and 'up till' are also sometimes used, mainly before 'now' and 'then'.

Up to now the Warsaw pact had held the whole initiative.

It was something he had never even considered up till now.

I had a three-wheel bike up to a few years ago but it got harder and harder to push it along.

141 You can also use the preposition 'before' to indicate when a situation ends.

Before 1716 Cheltenham had been a small market town.

Before ten and after six the area is empty.

start and end times 142 The duration of a situation or event can be indicated by saying

when it begins and when it ends. You can use 'from' to indicate when it begins and 'to', 'till', or 'until' to indicate when it ends.

The Blitz on London began with nightly bombings from 7 September to 2 November.

They are active in the line from about January until October.

from four in the morning until ten at night.

They seem to be working from dawn till dusk.

You can also use 'between' and 'and' instead of 'from' and 'to'.

Between 1966 and 1970 Mintech invested 8m in advanced machinery.

It's usually in the garage between Sunday and Thursday in winter.

illuminated advertising between midnight and dawn.

In American English, 'through' is often placed between the two times:

The chat shows goes out midnight through six a.m.

If you are using figures to refer to two times of years, you can separate them with a dash, instead of using 'from' and 'to'.

open 10-5 weekdays, 10-6 Saturdays and 2-6 Sundays.

Duration expressions as modifiers

143 You can also use time expressions involving a cardinal number and a general time word to modify nouns. Note that an apostrophe is added to the time word.

Four of those were sentenced to 15 days' detention.

They want to take on staff with two years' experience.

This use of cardinal numbers is describe in paragraph 2.248.

144 Time expressions are also used as compound adjectives to modify count nouns.

They all have to start off with a six month course in German.

I arrived at the University for a three month stint as a visiting lecturer.

Compound adjectives are explained in paragraphs 2.98 to 2.107.