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Sometimes, Some Time, and Sometime

December 12, 2011
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by Mignon Fogarty

Want to hate English while feeling dark and moody? Note that these mean different things:

sometime
some time
sometimes

As I'm writing this tip I have the Depeche Mode song "Sometimes" in my head.

"Sometimes" means "now and then" or "occasionally," so when they wrote the lyrics "Sometimes I question everything," they used it properly. Thank goodness! I'd hate my college memories to be tainted by a love of bad usage.

"Sometime" means "at some unspecified time": Let's get dinner and reminisce over Depeche Mode sometime.

"Some time" means "quite a while": I think I'll spend some time listening to that old Depeche Mode tape again.

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Comments for Sometimes, Some Time, and Sometime

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Dark-eyed Junco
12/29/2011 8:44:23 PM

Is it correct to say aluminum or aluminium? I gat all tangled up with my aluminuminuminumiums

Greg with two Gs
12/16/2011 8:54:52 PM

Also, Janet, yes, yes, and yes.

Greg with two Gs
12/16/2011 8:52:17 PM

There is another usage of "sometime": "He is a sometime actor." Meaning, obviously, that he is in plays from time to time.

Janet
12/14/2011 6:21:18 PM

1. I will be going food shopping sometime next week. ( is this correct.
2. I will be spending some time with my parents over the weekend.
3. Not all the time but sometimes I get upset when people eat my food.

Are these correct I would like to know because I am taking something called the accuplacer for college and would like to know if information about this. it is on my exam

Sung o
12/13/2011 8:41:44 AM

Thanks a lot. It is helpful and useful to me. To improve my English skills

Takano
12/13/2011 2:03:17 AM

Thank you for providing helpful and useful English usage tips that are easy to understand and use.

mohammed
12/12/2011 6:12:32 PM

nice

Slurry Hooker 2
12/12/2011 5:59:08 PM

Dan, these are some times we live in, huh?!

Ed in Japan
11/1/2011 9:43:13 PM

What about in the sentence, "The meeting will be held some time in March." Or should it be "sometime in March"?

Slurry hooker
2/24/2011 1:21:50 PM

Hahahhaha ur name was supposed to be Slutty Hooker but the spellcheck changed it!! Haha anyway! I follow grammar girl on twitter I luv her tips :) I think u would appreciate! :)

Stop being stupid ya moron ;)

Hanul
2/22/2011 10:31:12 PM

i hate ' sometime" though. it keeps me waiting for 'sometime'.

alexandra wills
2/22/2011 1:05:14 PM

I love these tips. Godsend.

NotJustAnotherJen
2/22/2011 11:49:43 AM

Found you on Twitter and I LOVE what you've got. A girlfriend of mine and I are word nerds and she's very much into grammar. I'll be sure to share. Big bonus points for the Depeche Mode reference. Keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing more. Cheers!

Dan C
2/22/2011 11:33:40 AM

Your headline says "Sometimes, Some Times, and Sometime," so I was looking forward to reading a usage of "Some Times."

Nonetheless, thanks for the info.

Sudeep
2/22/2011 11:23:37 AM

Just what I expected. Quick. Dirty. Easy.

Bill Burton
2/22/2011 11:20:43 AM

Sometimes I think no one pays any attention to grammar on the web. For some time now, I have been frustrated by the inattention and the changes from the clearly intended meaning resulting from the sloppy grammar.

Keep up the good work!

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Sometimes, Some Time, and Sometime

Want to hate English while feeling dark and moody? Note that these mean different things:

sometime

some time

sometimes

As I'm writing this tip I have the Depeche Mode song "Sometimes" in my head.

"Sometimes" means "now and then" or "occasionally," so when they wrote the lyrics "Sometimes I question everything," they used it properly. Thank goodness! I'd hate my college memories to be tainted by a love of bad usage.

"Sometime" means "at some unspecified time": Let's get dinner and reminisce over Depeche Mode sometime.

"Some time" means "quite a while": I think I'll spend some time listening to that old Depeche Mode tape again.

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