Collocations with time are common English word combinations such as spend time, save time, make time for, run out of time, and on time.
These expressions describe how you use time, how long an activity takes, and whether something happens when expected. For example, spend time focuses on how someone uses a period of time, while take time describes how long something requires.
Some expressions are less predictable. Buy time means gain additional time through a delay, while it’s about time often suggests that something should have happened sooner.
Common Collocations with Time and Example Sentences
The following expressions cover everyday activities, schedules, deadlines, and experiences. Some are verb + noun or adjective + noun collocations, while others are established phrases or idioms involving time.
Spending, Saving, and Using Time
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Spend time | During the holidays, Zoe spent time restoring her grandfather’s collection of photographs. |
| Waste time | We wasted time searching for a missing charger before finding it in the car. |
| Save time | Ordering groceries online saved Priya time during a busy week. |
| Invest time in something | Jun invested time in learning how to repair bicycles before opening his workshop. |
| Devote time to something | After retiring, Miriam devoted time to recording her family’s stories. |
| Buy time | The negotiator requested a short break to buy time while the team reconsidered its proposal. |
| Stall for time | Unable to answer immediately, the salesperson stalled for time by checking the product specifications again. |
| Kill time | While waiting for the delayed bus, Anika killed time solving a crossword puzzle. |
| Pass the time | The children passed the time inventing stories during the long car journey. |
Kill time and pass the time both describe occupying yourself while waiting. Kill time is generally more informal, but the meanings overlap considerably.
Finding Time and Dealing with Time Pressure
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Have time | We won’t have time to visit the second museum before it closes. |
| Make time for someone or something | Despite her changing shifts, Elena made time for a weekly visit to her grandmother. |
| Find time to do something | Between rehearsals, Caleb found time to fix his bicycle. |
| Spare some time | Could you spare some time this afternoon to review the invoice? |
| Set aside time for something | The family set aside time for sorting through boxes in the attic. |
| Allow time for something | The organisers allowed extra time for security checks at the entrance. |
| Run out of time | The contestants ran out of time before completing the final challenge. |
| Be pressed for time | Nadia was pressed for time and couldn’t stop for coffee before her appointment. |
Punctuality, Planning, and Timing
| Expression | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| On time | Despite the heavy traffic, the ferry departed on time. |
| In time | The family arrived in time to hear the opening speech. |
| Just in time | The replacement costumes arrived just in time for the final rehearsal. |
| Ahead of time | Marcus completed the registration forms ahead of time, avoiding the queue at the venue. |
| In good time | The visitors reached the airport in good time and had breakfast before their flight. |
| At the right time | The gardener planted the seedlings at the right time to avoid the last spring frost. |
| Over time | The wooden fence changed colour over time as it was exposed to sunlight and rain. |
| Take time off | Jasmine took time off work to help her parents move house. |
Describing Available Time
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Free time | In her free time, Amara enjoys sketching birds from her balcony. |
| Spare time | Lewis restores old radios in his spare time and gives some to friends. |
| Precious time | A faulty navigation system cost the rescue crew precious time during the search. |
| Limited time | The chef had limited time to prepare the meal before the guests arrived. |
| Ample time | The revised schedule gave the technicians ample time to test the equipment. |
| Quality time | After several weeks of night shifts, Oliver spent quality time with his children at the seaside. |
| Extra time | Candidates with approved testing accommodations received extra time to complete the examination. |
Free time and spare time both refer to periods when you are not occupied by work or other obligations. They are often interchangeable.
Quality time is different. It usually refers to time spent giving someone your attention, often to enjoy or strengthen a relationship.
The word spare can also be a verb:
Could you spare ten minutes to help me move this cupboard?
Here, the speaker is asking someone to make a little time available.
Duration and Other Common Expressions
| Expression | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Take time | Restoring the damaged piano took time because several parts had to be made by hand. |
| Take your time | The instructor told the beginners to take their time while learning the movements. |
| Have a good time | The cousins had a good time exploring the coastal caves during their holiday. |
| Have a hard time doing something | Emma had a hard time following the recipe because several measurements were missing. |
| Lose track of time | While reading old letters, Rosa lost track of time and forgot about lunch. |
| Time flies | “Time flies,” Daniel said when he realised his daughter was already leaving for university. |
| It’s about time | When the council finally repaired the streetlights, residents said, “It’s about time!” |
| Tell the time / Tell time | By the end of the term, the children had learned to tell the time using an analogue clock. |
Tell the time is particularly common in British English, while tell time is the usual American English expression when referring to reading a clock.
How the Meaning Changes in Time Collocations
Expressions involving time can describe the same situation from different perspectives. The differences become clearer when you compare complete sentences.
Spend Time or Take Time?
Both expressions concern duration, but they focus on different things.
Hannah spent two hours repairing the garden gate.
This tells us how Hannah used those two hours.
Repairing the garden gate took two hours.
This tells us how long the repair required.
You can also say:
It took Hannah two hours to repair the gate.
The common patterns are:
- Someone spends time doing something.
- An activity takes time.
- It takes someone a period of time to do something.
For example:
I spent an hour checking the accounts.
It took me an hour to check the accounts.
Both sentences can describe the same work. One focuses on the person’s use of time, while the other focuses on the duration required.
Take your time has a different meaning. It encourages someone not to hurry.
Take your time checking the measurements. There’s no need to finish today.
You can find other expressions using this verb in collocations with take.
Save Time, Make Time, or Find Time?
Suppose Amir is balancing a busy work schedule with evening language classes.
Using an online booking system saved Amir time when arranging appointments.
The system reduced the time he needed for a task.
Amir made time for his language classes by keeping two evenings free each week.
He deliberately arranged his schedule around the classes.
Despite an unexpected meeting, Amir found time to finish his homework.
He managed to fit the activity into the time available.
Save time means reduce the time needed or avoid unnecessary delay.
Make time and find time overlap. Both can mean ensuring that time is available for something. Make time may emphasise deliberately prioritising an activity, while find time often suggests managing to fit it into a busy schedule.
The distinction is one of emphasis, not a strict rule.
On Time, In Time, and Other Timing Expressions
These expressions describe different relationships between an event and an expected or suitable time.
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| On time | At the scheduled or expected time | The meeting began on time at nine. |
| In time | Early enough for something | We arrived in time to catch the train. |
| Just in time | Only narrowly before it was too late | The mechanic finished just in time for the inspection. |
| In good time | Early enough, usually with time to spare | We reached the theatre in good time for the show. |
| Ahead of time | Earlier than expected, planned, or required | The invitations were printed ahead of time. |
| At the right time | At an appropriate or suitable moment | The coach made the substitution at the right time. |
Imagine a concert scheduled for 7 p.m.
If it starts on time, it begins as scheduled. If you arrive in time for the concert, you arrive early enough to attend it. If you arrive just in time, you almost miss the beginning.
You could arrive in good time for the concert and still have half an hour to find your seat.
Over time describes something different: change or development as time passes.
The children became more confident in the water over time.
This sentence does not concern punctuality or meeting a deadline.
Buy Time or Stall for Time?
Both expressions can involve deliberate delay.
The manager requested another meeting to buy time while the team reviewed the proposed contract.
The delay gave the team more time before making a decision.
When the supplier demanded an immediate answer, the manager stalled for time by asking for another copy of the cost breakdown.
Here, the manager deliberately put off responding.
Buy time focuses on gaining additional time before something must happen.
Stall for time emphasises delaying an action, answer, or decision, sometimes by using delaying tactics.
The expressions overlap. The same action may both buy time and stall for time.
Waste time has a different meaning:
We wasted twenty minutes looking for the wrong address.
It describes using time unproductively, without necessarily suggesting deliberate delay.
Run Out of Time or Be Pressed for Time?
These expressions describe different levels of time pressure.
The students ran out of time before completing the final question.
Their available time ended.
The journalist was pressed for time and had to leave before the discussion finished.
The journalist had very little time and was in a hurry.
You can be pressed for time without having run out of it.
Be short of time is similar to be pressed for time. It means having less time than you need or would like.
We’re short of time, so we’ll discuss the remaining questions tomorrow.
Using Collocations with Time Correctly
The words following a time collocation can affect its grammar. Some combinations need a preposition, while others take an -ing form or an infinitive.
Spend Time Doing Something or Spend Time on Something?
Both constructions are correct.
Nina spent several hours organising the family photographs.
Here, the -ing form names the activity.
Nina spent several hours on the photographs.
Here, on introduces what she was working on.
You can also spend time with someone:
Gabriel spent the afternoon with his grandfather.
The common patterns are:
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Spend time doing something | She spent the morning preparing for the interview. |
| Spend time on something | He spent three hours on the report. |
| Spend time with someone | They spent Sunday with their grandparents. |
Complete Patterns with Time
Some expressions use prepositions, while others take an infinitive.
| Complete pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Make time for something | Ethan made time for evening walks with his daughter. |
| Make time to do something | Mia made time to call her aunt before leaving. |
| Find time to do something | The baker found time to repair the shop’s sign. |
| Devote time to something | The historian devoted time to researching the town’s trading history. |
| Invest time in something | Felix invested time in learning bicycle maintenance. |
| Set aside time for something | The committee set aside time for questions after the presentation. |
| Allow time for something | The organisers allowed time for visitors to move between exhibition rooms. |
Notice the difference between devote time to and make time to.
She devoted time to improving her writing.
She made time to improve her writing.
In devote time to, to is a preposition, so an -ing form can follow it.
In make time to improve, to improve is an infinitive.
Similarly, invest time in is commonly followed by a noun or an -ing form:
He invested time in learning a new skill.
It’s Time or It’s About Time?
Both expressions can suggest that something should happen, but it’s about time often adds a sense that it is overdue.
It’s time to replace the damaged lock.
Replacing the lock is appropriate or necessary now.
It’s about time we replaced the damaged lock.
The speaker suggests that the replacement should have happened sooner.
The second sentence uses a past-tense verb, replaced, even though the speaker may be referring to something that still needs to happen.
This pattern is common:
It’s about time + subject + past-tense verb
It’s about time we left. Everyone else has already gone.
It’s about time you apologised for what happened.
The expression can sound impatient or critical, depending on the context.
It’s about time! can also stand alone as a reaction to something that finally happens after a long delay.
“They’ve finally reopened the bridge.”
“It’s about time!”
Time or Times?
Time is usually uncountable when it refers to duration or the amount of time available.
We don’t have much time before the train leaves.
The repairs required a lot of time.
Incorrect: We don’t have many time.
Correct: We don’t have much time.
When counting the number of occasions something happens, use times.
I’ve visited that village three times.
The alarm sounded several times during the night.
So much time refers to duration or availability, while many times refers to repeated occasions.
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