I want to know what the difference between "some times" and "sometimes"？Thanks a lot!!
Question
I got told off for suggesting that 'someone' could be written as 'some one'. So I don't know if I should comment.
Sometimes words are joined together, some-times they are hyphened, and some times they are separate.
Like most things in English, there is no particular rhyme or reason, there is just a convention that you have to learn.
Personally, if I wanted to stress the fact that 'sometimes' is actually composed of two different words, I would write them separately. So, you do something different, for effect.
So normally, 'sometimes' would be one word, but occasionally in a poem, song or novel, it might appear as two words, next to each other, 'some times'.
If it was a question of 'Law', you could ask 'with what Authority?' and the 'what are the Precedents?'. But as it is a question of spelling, then the best place to look is a Dictionary or Thesaurus to find the convention.
Sometimes words are joined together, some-times they are hyphened, and some times they are separate.
Like most things in English, there is no particular rhyme or reason, there is just a convention that you have to learn.
Personally, if I wanted to stress the fact that 'sometimes' is actually composed of two different words, I would write them separately. So, you do something different, for effect.
So normally, 'sometimes' would be one word, but occasionally in a poem, song or novel, it might appear as two words, next to each other, 'some times'.
If it was a question of 'Law', you could ask 'with what Authority?' and the 'what are the Precedents?'. But as it is a question of spelling, then the best place to look is a Dictionary or Thesaurus to find the convention.
I don't mean to scold you, Robin, but I think you are incorrect again. There is a distinct difference between "sometimes" and "some times." The former is usually an adverb, and more specifically, an adverb of frequency. It usually answers the question "how often?" Take the following example:
"Sometimes I eat steak." How often do you eat it? Sometimes
"Some times" however is quite different. Here you have a plural noun (times) modified by an adjective (some). And as a noun, it usually functions as the subject or the object in a sentence.
Here it is the subject of the subordinate clause:
"I guess I can go whenever you like although for me some times are better than others."
Here you find the construction in its singular form, used as an object of the preposition:
"I suppose I must stop by grandma's at some time during the day."
As I said, "time" is the object of the prepostion "at," "some" is an adjective modifying "time," and the entire prepositional phrase "at some time" functions as an adverb modifying the verb "stop."
So you see that quite a gap divides the two words. Try to use "sometimes" when you wish to speak about how frequently an event occurs. Try to use the construction "some times" when you wish to speak directly about a particular time.
"Sometimes I eat steak." How often do you eat it? Sometimes
"Some times" however is quite different. Here you have a plural noun (times) modified by an adjective (some). And as a noun, it usually functions as the subject or the object in a sentence.
Here it is the subject of the subordinate clause:
"I guess I can go whenever you like although for me some times are better than others."
Here you find the construction in its singular form, used as an object of the preposition:
"I suppose I must stop by grandma's at some time during the day."
As I said, "time" is the object of the prepostion "at," "some" is an adjective modifying "time," and the entire prepositional phrase "at some time" functions as an adverb modifying the verb "stop."
So you see that quite a gap divides the two words. Try to use "sometimes" when you wish to speak about how frequently an event occurs. Try to use the construction "some times" when you wish to speak directly about a particular time.
Hello, like a lot of arguments, often the two sides end up agreeing or they find they are not arguing about anything worth arguing about.
I am not able to do the sort of word analysis that you have made, but I can understand what you are saying.
That: 'sometimes', and 'some times', are not equivalent, and that they mean different things.
I had just come across something similar that I had written.
anyway:
"I could read whole chapters, and not feel the need to summarise them in any way."
It is a shame we do not have a better Topic Heading.
I am not able to do the sort of word analysis that you have made, but I can understand what you are saying.
That: 'sometimes', and 'some times', are not equivalent, and that they mean different things.
I had just come across something similar that I had written.
anyway:
"I could read whole chapters, and not feel the need to summarise them in any way."
It is a shame we do not have a better Topic Heading.
I am glad you understood my post. It is a pity that I cannot return the favor. Are you suggesting that we somehow agree on this topic, or that your first post is correct? If so, then I beg to differ.
As for my "word analysis," it's just a bit of traditional English grammar. Most of the good posters here can do it much better than I. It is wonderful for helping others to learn our language. I suggest you brush up on it before you offer any more advice to English learners.
As for my "word analysis," it's just a bit of traditional English grammar. Most of the good posters here can do it much better than I. It is wonderful for helping others to learn our language. I suggest you brush up on it before you offer any more advice to English learners.