Subordinate time clauses

5.111 Subordinate time clauses can often be used instead of prepositional phrases to indicate when an event occurs.

For example, instead of saying 'He was killed in a car accident four years after their marriage', you could say 'He was killed in a car accident four years after they were married'.

Or, instead of saying 'During his stay in prison, he has written many essays and poems', you could say 'While he has been in prison, he has written many essays and poems'.

It is often possible or preferable to use a subordinate clause introduced by 'before' or 'after' to indicate the order or simultaneity of a number of events.

Subordinate time clauses are explained in paragraphs 8.8 to 8.24.

Extended uses of time expressions

5.112 Time expresses and prepositional phrases can be used as qualifiers to specify events or periods of time.

I'm afraid the meeting this afternoon tired me badly.

The sudden death of his father on 17 November 1960 did not find him unprepared.

...until I started to recall the years after the Second World War.

No admissions are permitted in the hour before closing time.

Clock times, periods of the day, days of the week, months, dates, seasons, special periods of the year, years, decades, and centuries can be used as modifiers to specify things.

Every morning he would set off right after the eight o'clock news.

Castle was usually able to catch the six thirty-five train from Euston.

But now the sun was already shredding away the morning mists.

He learned that he had missed the Monday flight.

I had summer clothes and winter clothes.

Ash had spent the Christmas holidays at Pelham Abbas.

Possessive forms can also be used.

Tuesday's paper will he forced to carry an extra page to print all the corrections to statements in Monday's paper.

It was Jim Griffiths, who knew nothing of the morning's happenings.

The story will appear in tomorrow's paper.

This week's batch of government statistics added to the general confusion over the state of the economy.

For more information on modifiers and qualifiers, see Chapter 2.

Frequency and duration

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

moment second minute

hour day night

week fortnight month

year decade century

'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

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

again and again a lot all the time always constantly continually continuously

ever frequently from time to time hardly ever infrequently intermittently much

never normally occasionally often periodically rarely regularly

repeatedly seldom sometimes sporadically usually

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.

5.115 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 5.116 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 5.117 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.

5.119 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 5.62.

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 5.41.

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

hourly daily

weekly fortnightly

monthly quarterly

yearly

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 £65.00 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 5.121 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 5.122 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.