We are running late! We'll never make it in time!
The lecture starts at 8:00 sharp. Make sure to be on time! In time
and on time? Is there a difference? Actually, there is! Let's figure it out.
Hello my dear friends and welcome to English Mania!
My name is Antonia Romaker and today we'll compare 'in time' and 'on time'.
We use the phrase 'on time' to talk about timetabled events.
In other words if something is on time it means that it is at scheduled time.
We often use right on time for emphasis or more informally dead on time,
bang on time. The synonymous phrases are on schedule or punctual, punctually.
Glad you are on time and you are watching my video, while it is premiering.
He's a catch, he's kind and he always shows up on time. I hate it when people are late. I'm sure
we'll get to the show on time. So stop panicking. Don't worry, these meetings never start on time.
We use the phrase in time to say that we are not late or we have enough time to do something.
In other words in time means early or soon enough. Don't worry, I'll be back in time to
cook dinner. So I will have enough time to do it. I will come early enough to cook dinner.
Don't worry, I'll be back in time to cook dinner. We can also use the phrase 'just in time', and it
means almost too late. But you still manage to do something. And you have almost missed it, but you
haven't. Just in time, in other words, before it is too late. I arrived just in time for my flight
to Alaska. So I had almost missed it but I hadn't. I arrived just in time for my flight to Alaska.
Luckily he got out of the way just in time. Once again almost too late but
still he managed to avoid some injury. Luckily he managed to get away just in time.
You are just in time to join us for dinner. Come on in! We can simply say 'in time'.
You are in time to join us for dinner. Or just in time, like you came at the exact
time when we were supposed to sit down to have dinner. You are just in time to join
us for dinner. Notice that we can use the phrase 'in time' with the preposition 'for', so you can
be in time for something: in time for dinner, in time for my birthday, in time for the cake
at a wedding. In addition, we use 'in time' with an infinitive.
There's another meaning of the phrase 'in time', it means in future, when some time passes.
In time he'll see the error of his ways. So in a couple of weeks, months or years he will see
the error of his ways. He will see why he's wrong. Will he though? The opposite of 'on time' is late,
you're late but it's fine you can still work with it, you can still do something about it.
And the opposite of 'in time' is too late. Sorry, you can't do anything about it, you've missed
it! Now let's compare a couple of sentences, choose which preposition should be put there.
the train left... on time or in time?
Well, on time, because we are talking about timetabled events - train. The train left on time.
The birthday present arrived... on time or in time... for my birthday.
In time for my birthday, so soon enough, early, maybe early, maybe exactly on my
birthday but still, it arrived in time, not too late. The birthday present arrived in time.
I was at home... on time... or in time for dinner. So which is it?
In time for dinner. Don't forget that we use this phrase with the preposition 'for',
in time for something, when you are not too late,
soon enough, early. I was at home in time for dinner. I'll meet you at 7 00 am, be
on time or in time? When we talk about some scheduled events, meetings - on time.
I'll meet you at 7 00 am, be on time, don't be late!
I arrived... on time or in time... to prepare for my report.
In time to prepare for my report. So I had enough time to do it,
so it's not about schedule, it's about enough time for doing something. I was not too late, I arrived
in time to prepare for my report. Now a little trick for you to remember the difference better.
When you think about the phrase 'on time', imagine a clock's face, a round clock on your wall.
So when we talk about 'on time', we think about timetabled events, which happen on schedule. So
on, the letter o stands for a clock face. When you think about the phrase 'in time', imagine a candle
wick. While the candle is still burning, you have time to do something, you have enough time. But if
the candle stops burning, it's too late. Imagine you are in darkness and you can't do anything.
And this candle wick stands for the letter i. I hope that this little trick will be of some use
for you. Okay so that's it, I hope that now you know the difference between 'on time' and 'in
time'. If i have any questions, write a comment, we'll discuss. And in addition, do not forget
to like the video, it will mean the world to me. Also share and subscribe, if you want to continue
studying English with me. And I hope to see you soon! Happy English and Russian practice! Bye!