7/15/2011

In the Nick of TIme

Did you finish the project in time or on time?
You can answer: I finished the project on time.
Or: I finished the project in time.

You can use either on time or in time to mean at an expected point in time. However, they do have a subtle difference. While on time means finishing a task on schedule or punctually, in time means finishing before a deadline [1]. In time suggests more urgency because there was some sort of difficulty to get something done. Look at the examples below.

My train comes on time every day.
I caught my train in time, just as the doors were closing.

Even more extreme than in time is in the nick of time, which means finishing at the last possible moment. I got to the departure gate in the nick of time, and boarded the plane before it took off. A nick is a small cut, in this case a small cut in time, or a small window of opportunity.

The opposite of in time is in good time, which means finishing something a long while before the expected deadline. We arrived at the airport in good time, so we were able to do a little souvenir shopping before boarding.

Also, if you do something immediately, it can be said that you did it in no time. It seems to me that you have understood this in no time!


[1] fecha limite

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