The Most Used English COLLOCATIONS with TIME

Oct 25, 2016

Interactive quizzes for fluent and natural speaking from English Collocations in Use by Michael McCarthy and Felicity O’Dell

Go through these TIME flashcards to boost your vocabulary.
- 1.
  
  Example: I spent some time in South America when I was younger. — comment
  NOT ~~passed~~ in this context; though you can say things like reading passes the time.
- 2.
  
  Example: Don’t do it like that. You’re wasting time.
- 3.
  
  Example: You’ll save time if you do it like this. — comment
  Spend, waste and save are often used with money as well as time.
- 4.
  
  Example: Can you tell me the time, please? I left my watch at home. — comment
  NOT tell the ~~hour~~
- 5.
  
  Example: What do you like to do in your free / spare time? — comment
  Both expressions refer to the time when you are not working.
- 6.
  
  Example: I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to do my homework. — comment
  Compare: Jo doesn’t have time for lazy people. [has no patience with]
- 7.
  
  Example: The doctor’s very busy but he’ll try to make time for you. — comment
  Make here has a simple meaning of create.
- 8.
  
  Example: We got to the airport very early, so we had a meal in the restaurant to kill (some) time. — comment
  To fill the time while you are waiting to do something you have planned.
- 9.
  
  Example: No need to hurry — you can take your time. — comment
  This means you can be as long as you wish.
- 10.
  
  Example: The train left right on time. — comment
  Exactly on time.
- 11.
  
  Example: We had a good time at the party. — comment
  NOT ~~spent~~ a great time
- 12.
  
  Example: Your attitude to work may change a bit as time goes by. — comment
  [or as time passes]
- 13.
  
  Example: I couldn’t finish the exam because I ran out of time.
- 14.
  
  Example: You’ll be sorry big time for speaking to me like that!
Talking about past and future
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  The past few weeks have been really difficult for Tina’s two grown-up children. They’re both at university writing dissertations. Her son’s is on early 21^st century fiction while her daughter’s is about life in prehistoric times — she’s not interested in the recent past at all. They are both working very hard. They are nearly finished but there are lots of last-minute things left to do. They set their alarms for five o’clock and get up as soon as the alarm goes off. They work from dawn till dusk and indeed sometimes they stay up until the small hours. Tina can’t wait until they stop working such ungodly hours. It’s taking them ages to complete their work but Tina is sure it will eventually all be worth their while. She is sure they both have a great future ahead of them. She thinks they will both get good academic jobs in the not too distant future. Of course, no one can know what the future holds, but I hope she is right.
Complete the sentences below taken from advertisements.
- 1. What do you do when you’re not working? Do you want to spend your . . .
  free
  time in pleasant, relaxing surroundings?
  - free
  - big
  - good
- 2. Why not . . .
  spend
  some time at the Haven Health Centre?
  - spend
  - take
  - waste
- 3. Slow down, . . .
  take
  your time.
  - take
  - kill
  - save
- 4. . . .
  Make
  time for yourself in your busy world.
  - Make
  - Take
  - Have
- 5. If you like chess, you’ll love this. Chess for your laptop, tablet or mobile phone. Great for . . .
  killing
  time on a long plane or train journey!
  - killing
  - having
  - taking
- 6. Don’t . . .
  waste
  time writing appointments on your calendar!
  - waste
  - save
  - kill
- 7. You can . . .
  save
  valuable time by using Timemate, the new app from Compcorpus.
  - save
  - make
  - spend
- 8. You’ll arrive . . .
  right
  on time for every appointment and never be late again.
  - right
  - well
  - proper
- 9. Can you . . .
  tell
  me the time, please? How often do people ask you this and you can’t answer?
  - tell
  - make
  - take
Choose the correct collocation in these sentences.
- 1. I was hoping to finish my dissertation last year but I . . .
  ran out of time
  .
  - ran out of time
  - ran off time
- 2. It’s hard work learning a language but I’m sure you’ll find it’s . . .
  worth your while
  .
  - worth your while
  - worth the while
- 3. Les spends all this time at the office — he’s there . . .
  from dawn till dusk
  .
  - from dawn till dusk
  - from dusk till dawn
- 4. As a teacher I often wonder . . .
  what the future holds
  for my pupils.
  - what the future holds
  - what the future has
- 5. . . .
  Did you have
  a good time on holiday?
  - Did you have
  - Did you spend
- 6. I didn’t . . .
  have time to do
  the ironing last night.
  - have time to do
  - have time for doing
Complete the second part of each conversation with a collocation from the text above.
- Adam: Don’t forget, everybody. We have to get up at 5a.m. tomorrow.
  Sally: Well, we’d better all . . .
  set our alarms
  .
  - set our alarms
  - go off
- Ahmed: Did you enjoy your trip to Malaysia?
  Inez: Yes. It was fantastic. I had . . .
  the time of my life
  .
  - the time of my life
  - not too distant future
- Judith: I think as you get older you change your attitude towards your parents.
  Mark: Yes, I think you learn to respect them more as . . .
  time goes by
  .
  - time goes by
  - time goes off
- Hugh: You must come and visit us some time. Don’t keep putting it off.
  Mary: Yes. I’ll try to come and see you in the . . .
  not too distant future
  .
  - not too distant future
  - the time of my life
- Ruth: You were late for work this morning!
  Andy: Yes. I didn’t wake up. The alarm didn’t . . .
  go off
  .
  - go off
  - go by
- Willis: Sonia was studying till 2a.m. again last night.
  Teresa: Yes, she always stays up working until . . .
  the small hours
  .
  - the small hours
  - set our alarms

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