Is the word sometimes a verb

Adverbs are words that modify verbs by describing how, when, or where they happen.

It’s not always easy to pick out an adverb. Some words modify verbs even when they don’t appear to be doing so, like sometimes.

Should you use sometimes or some times when you want to describe something that only happens once in a while? Continue reading to learn more.

What is the Difference Between Sometimes and Some Times?

In this post, I will compare sometimes vs. some times. I will use these words in several example sentences—this way, you will be able to see the words in context.

Then, I will demonstrate a mnemonic device that makes choosing sometimes or some times easier.

When to Use Sometimes

What does sometimes mean? Sometimes is an adverb. The word sometimes describes when an event takes place. You can think of it as a synonym of adverbs like occasionally and the phrase now and then.

If something happens sometimes, it happens often enough to be worth mentioning, but it is not happening constantly.

Here are a few examples,

• Sometimes, I like to shower before I go to work, but other times, I prefer to shower when I get home at night.
• Katie sometimes jogs with her dog Marky Mark around the park as a quick morning workout.

Sometimes is a compound of the words some and times, where some is an adjective that describes an unspecified quantity, and times is a noun that refers to points in a person’s experience of life. Compounds happen when two words which are frequently used together gradually come to be spelled as a single word.

According to Merriam-Webster, the word has been part of English since the 14th century.

When to Use Some Times

What does some times mean? You are also free to use the words separately, as in the phrase some times.

Some times is a noun phrase, rather than an adverb, and it means a nonspecific quantity of points in a timeline. Someone might ask his or her colleague for some times that would work to get together and talk about the quarter-end finances, for instance.

Here are some more examples,

• “Let’s find some times that will work for all of us and clean up this back alley,” said one of the neighbors.
• Some times are not good times for pizza, but I have yet to discover exactly when those times are.

Trick to Remember the Difference

The phrase some times and the compound sometimes are different parts of speech, so you will need to know when to use each.

• If you are using the word as a noun phrase, choose some times.
• If you are using it as an adverb, sometimes is the better choice.

Some time vs. Sometimes Mnemonic: Sometimes has a similar meaning to occasionally. Some times, two words, simply means multiple times, also two words.

Summary

Is it some times or sometimes? These two words are never interchangeable.

• Sometimes is an adverb that means occasionally or now and then.
• Some times is a noun phrase that means a nonspecific quantity of points in a timeline.

иногда, временами

наречие

- иногда, время от времени, временами

Словосочетания

we sometimes do not know our own mind — мы иногда сами не знаем, чего хотим  
criminals are sometimes the products of — преступники иногда появляются в результате  
sometimes gestures are more expressive than speech — иногда жесты выразительнее слов  
sometimes history repeats itself — иногда история повторяется  
sometimes they serve up a good meal here — здесь иногда хорошо кормят  
earth’s shadow sometimes falls on the moon — иногда тень от Земли падает на Луну  
shadow sometimes falls on the moon — иногда тень от Земли падает на Луну  
the shadow sometimes falls on the moon — иногда тень от Земли падает на Луну  
as is sometimes the case — как это бывает  
the reverse is sometimes true — имеет место обратное положение; иногда верно и обратное  

Примеры с переводом

Возможные однокоренные слова

sometime  — когда-то, когда-нибудь, некогда, прежде, бывший, прежний

To answer the original question, just look at the spelling:
sometime is some + time (singular, also spelled two words, some time ) while sometimes is some + times (plural, one word). Some examples:

Let’s get together sometime for dinner.
( time has no ‘s’, which means it refers to an indefinite day, usually in the future)

We sometimes get together for dinner.
(times has the plural ‘s’, meaning we have had dinner together at least twice, and the tense of get implies that it may happen again. The plural spelling plus the verb form both show a repetition of the action.)

Your teacher corrected your sentence to sometimes (overlooking «a poor vision»!) for the simple reason that you were talking about past, present, and future time.

Some people claim that sometime is not a word, but there is an obvious difference in meaning and pronunciation between some time and sometime. For example:

Stop by and see me sometime when you have some time.

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[ˈsʌmtaɪmz]

Частота употребления

Кол-во употреблений sometimes на 1 миллион слов: 218.

Примеры предложений

Tom sometimes reads on his bed.
Том иногда читает в постели.

I sometimes borrow books from the library.
Я иногда беру книги в библиотеке.

Tom and I sometimes work together.
Мы с Томом иногда работаем вместе.

Tom sometimes sleeps on the floor.
Том иногда спит на полу.

Not every grandchild is an angel; sometimes grandchildren are enemies.
Не каждый внук — ангел. Иногда внуки становятся врагами.

The door is sometimes open.
Дверь иногда открыта.

I sometimes play cards with my friends.
Я иногда играю в карты с друзьями.

It’s sometimes necessary not to tell the truth.
Иногда нужно не говорить правду.

Tom sometimes appears on TV.
Тома иногда показывают по телевизору.

Alcohol is sometimes called liquid courage.
Алкоголь иногда называют жидкой храбростью.

Mary usually goes to school by bus, but sometimes she walks.
Мэри обычно ездит в школу на автобусе, но иногда ходит пешком.

I still sometimes do that.
Я до сих пор иногда это делаю.

Tom sometimes goes to Boston.
Том иногда ездит в Бостон.

I love my wife, but I sometimes need to be alone.
Я люблю свою жену, но иногда мне нужно побыть в одиночестве.

The best way to solve a problem is sometimes the simplest.
Иногда лучший способ решить проблему — самый простой.

I sometimes dream of my mother.
Я иногда вижу сны о моей матери.

They sometimes play baseball.
Они иногда играют в бейсбол.

That supermarket sometimes has sales.
В этом супермаркете иногда бывают распродажи.

In other cultures, the balls were filled with earth, grain, bits and pieces of plants, and sometimes even pieces of metal.
В других культурах мячи наполнялись землёй, зерном, кусочками растений, а иногда даже кусками металла.

The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all.
Бедные иногда противятся тому, чтобы ими плохо управляли; богатые вообще противятся, чтобы ими управляли.

His behavior is sometimes strange.
Его поведение иногда бывает странным.

He sometimes wished to go to extremes.
Иногда ему хотелось пойти на крайние меры.

He sometimes goes to work by car.
Иногда он ездит на работу на машине.

He sometimes eats lunch there, too.
Иногда он также обедает там.

He sometimes watches TV.
Он иногда смотрит телевизор.

Tom still sometimes cries.
Том до сих пор иногда плачет.

My father sometimes goes to Australia on business.
Мой отец иногда ездит по делам в Австралию.

My little sister sometimes wished she was a boy.
Моя младшая сестра иногда хотела быть мальчиком.

Tom sometimes comes home late.
Том иногда поздно приходит домой.

Tom sometimes walks to school.
Том иногда ходит в школу пешком.

Published January 8, 2017

While they appear very similar, sometime, sometimes, and some time have slightly different meanings. Sometime means a vague point in time, and usually refers to a long amount of time. Sometimes means occasionally. Some time refers to a period of time.

Sometime

Sometime refers to an unspecified point in time. It functions as an adverb, and is also synonymous with someday, one day, or sooner or later. Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

For example, in The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah uses sometime to refer to an indefinite time in the night: “As usual in the hot summer months, Sophie had kicked the coverlet to the floor sometime in the night.”Sometime can also be an adjective that means occasional, but this use of the word is rare. For instance, one could say “He’s her sometime employee,” which implies that he only works for her on occasion.

Sometimes

Sometimes is a very common adverb that means occasionally or now and then. For instance, Kazuo Ishiguro uses sometimes in The Buried Giant: “She and Beatrice went on conferring in low voices, sometimes glancing towards the crowd, sometimes at Axl.”Sometimes is an adverb of frequency, which is an adverb describing how often something happens. Some other adverbs of frequency are always, never, usually, and rarely. Sometimes is somewhat special in that it can go at the front, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence. For example, you can say “Sometimes he stays up late,” “He sometimes stays up late,” or “He stays up late sometimes.” The placement of other adverbs of frequency tends to be more restricted.

Some Time

The two-word expression some time means a period of time or quite a while. Some is an adjective describing the noun time. For example, in Girl at War, Sara Novic uses some time to describe a period of time of an unknown length: “‘I think we need some time apart.’ When I saw the words reflected on his face I wished I hadn’t said them.”

In the following example from The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah uses some time to imply quite a while: “It looked like no one had been in this apartment for some time. Probably not since that day Papa had left to save Isabelle.” The implication is that a large amount of time had lapsed since anyone had been inside the apartment. Whereas Novic uses some time to mean an unspecified period of time, in this example Hannah uses some time to suggest a long time.

me neither…thank you!

cristina

Good jop

Sara KH’azal



de rien

brachis13

Thanks for watching and for the idea, Bruno. Will do my best to record a lesson on that useful word!

All the best to you.

Rebecca



Rebecca I love your quizzes.Sometimes, I don’t get all right.Most of the times, I get 100% right!:)

suman shenoy

2!

jeanbaptiste



me too…xD

usmaaaan

Try to get hold of some English learning materials designed specially to help you improve your listening skills. Start very easily, with a short passage at a level you can understand and then go forward from there. You can do it! Also, have fun with the language. Sing along with the songs, watch some shows, and so on.

All the best to you, Leslie.

Rebecca

“Some time” means something different. For example:

I have some time before my exam, so I’m going to have lunch.

Every day he spends some time teaching his son how to read.

“Some times” is also different from what is explained in the video lesson.
For example:

There are some times in life when you just don’t know what to do.

I hope this helps! All the best to you, Raul.

Rebecca



Thanks a lots

raul



Thank you a lot for these precisions. You really help madam. Have a good life!

mamyhawa



hi Rebecca !!! I´ve been watching your lessons and they are very very usefull as tips to keep in mind regularly and the most important is I can understand the listening as you speek very clearly!!! So so gratefull to you !!!

anadelviso

Thanks for the suggestion, and thanks for watching, Basem.

My best wishes to you.

Rebecca



Hi Rebecca.
Sorry I still confused, thank you Rebecca.

may

I think we are both right, in different ways. We mean, “commonly confused words”.

Thanks for your comments and all the best to you.

Rebecca

I was Interested

dfantauzzi769



No sorry I beg you pardon because I was wrong not you sorry

dfantauzzi769

Cute! Hope you can, Raheem! My best wishes to you.

Rebecca



i like your example.

milina

Hi! Comments automatically go into moderation and I have to approve them by hand first — which is why your comments don’t show up right away. I’ll try to mod comments more frequently!

engVid

No problem, Shafiq. That’s called a “typo”, meaning a typing mistake.

We do have several video lessons on our site that explain idioms. Please go to our home page and have a look.

My best to you.

Rebecca

Thanks, Ricardo, for the suggestion. I will try my best to put together a lesson on that. You are right that many students confuse these two little prepositions.

My best wishes to you, Ricardo.

Rebecca

Hi! You shouldn’t have to be logged in to watch the video. Are you able to watch other YouTube videos, or is it just this one that won’t play?

engVid

Yes, certainly.

You can use the word “maybe” by itself.
For example,

A: Are you going to the party?
B: Maybe.

Otherwise, in a sentence you need to use “may” or “might”.

I may go to the party.
I might go to the party.

All the best, Eliete.

Rebecca

You can find specific help regarding the IELTS exam on one of our other websites, goodluckielts.com.

I wish you all the best with your exam. Be careful to study how to answer each of the reading comprehension questions as they can be pretty tricky. There are many exam preparation textbooks which can help you as well.

Best of luck!

All

Rebecca

I am sorry you had difficulty with that. Please watch the video again a few times or else try to read about these two words from a good grammar book. Whenever we have difficulty, we should keep on until we find an explanation that gets through to us and helps us to understand. You can do it, Mary.

Rebecca

I will meet you sometime.

This is when you think you will meet but you don’t know when.

I meet you sometimes.

This is talking about the fact that you meet someone quite regularly.

Hope this helps. All the best to you.

Rebecca

By the way, I have a question : How can I see if there is a reply on my comments or an answer ? Can I have a button for my comments and your answers ? Thank a lots. See you, Cata!

catamari



Thanks for your comments and suggestions, Cata. Always appreciated.
Best wishes to you.

Rebecca

Thanks for your feedback. The American way is to pronounce that word like “offen”, but people do use the other pronunciation, “often”, as well.

I always use the first pronunciation of the word.

My best wishes to you.

Rebecca

Dear Rebecca,
What did u mean pls : “I pick up dinner…” ??!!

Did u mean take o buy o sth else?
Tx in advance!

fatiima8

Useful tip: You can check it out in an English-Engish dictionary, all entries (words) include pronunciation apart from their meaning.

The stress falls on the first syllable /´kement/

Hope it helps Simr.

Regino

Yippee…
I have it !

fatiima8

Yep! Her teaching style is unique, but above all her language teaching tips and advice.

Ciao Wini!

Regino

Yep! Rebecca explains everything with great ease.
She’s a gifted teacher. I love her videos.

Great day Gelli!

Regino