How to spell the word "on time"? You will find the answer to this question in the materials of this article. Also, those rules of the Russian language that the mentioned expression falls under will be presented to your attention.
general information
How do you spell “on time”? This question interests many people. After all, the Russian language is so rich and diverse that not everyone is able to remember all the necessary rules that allow you to compose competent and beautiful texts.
It should be especially noted that such an expression can be used in completely different ways (depending on a particular context). It is necessary to remember that the named word is used in the text either together or separately. It is never hyphenated.
What is the difference?
Why, in general, the question arises of how to correctly spell the word "on time"? The fact is that this expression can be used in the text not only in the form presented above (together), but also in the following - “in time” (separately). One cannot ignore the fact that, despite the great similarity, these words belong to different parts of speech, and also have different meanings. It is these nuances that determine how it is written “on time”.
Examples
To make sure that the words presented can be written both together and separately, we give some illustrative examples:
- "I could not come on time, because I went to bed too late."
- “Booklets were handed out to invited guests during the conference.”
As you can see, this or that spelling of the presented word depends on the context.
Adverb
In order to understand how it is written “on time” in a particular case, it is necessary to determine what part of the speech this word is. In the first example, this expression answers the question “how?”. Consequently, this is an adverb that has a meaning of "just in time." And, as you know, such a part of speech, formed on behalf of a noun and having a spatial or temporal attribute, is written together with the connecting prefix. In this regard, in this case, it is required to write “on time”.
Noun
To learn how to write “on time” in the second example and justify your choice, you should also ask the question: “During what? “During the conference.” This shows that this expression is not an adverb, but a noun with a preposition. Thus, if in a particular sentence it is specified at what exact time a certain event occurs, then the word we are checking should be written only separately. After all, the noun and preposition cannot be used together.
Where does the stress fall?
If you find it difficult to remember those rules that explain how to spell “on time” correctly, you can resort to other methods. To do this, it is recommended to pay attention to stress. For instance:
- "Girls should not come on their first date on time."
- “If necessary, you can take time off during the lesson.”
As you can see from the example, in the first case, the stress in the word "on time" falls on the first syllable, and it is written together, as this is an adverb. In the second expression, the second syllable is in the stressed position, and it is written separately, since it is a noun and the preposition "in".
It should be noted that this is a great way to find out the correct spelling of a given word. But in this case, it is recommended to speak it out loud and with intonation.
To summarize
Now you know in which cases the word "on time" should be written together, and in which - separately. For a better understanding, we summarize what we talked about in this article:
1. An adverb with a connecting prefix is always written together, especially if it is synonymous with such words: “just”, “just in time” and “by the way”. It should also be noted that in a similar expression the stress almost always falls on the first syllable. For example: “came on time to work,” “shouted“ stop ”on time,“ “visited the museum on time,” etc.
2. Prepositions and nouns are always written separately, especially if they specify a certain time at which an event occurred, and they can also be easily replaced by the following turns: “when”, “while”, etc. It should also note that in such a phrase in the stressed position is the second syllable (that is, the first in the noun). Here are some illustrative examples: “while working on the machine,” “during the lesson,” “during the conference,” “during maternity leave,” “during vacation,” etc.
Exercises to consolidate the material
Expand the brackets and determine the correct spelling of the word "on time." Justify your answer:
- “Why (during) the performance in the hall should be complete silence?”
- "For the first time in a week, dad returned from work (at) time."
- "(During) turning to a specialist, he saved his life."
- “No matter how I want, I cannot come (in) time.”
- “(During) a small incident happened during the concert.”
- "(During) the time he comes when he is comfortable."
- “(During) the bride did not have time to throw a bouquet (during) the time.”