--- title: Late and early: being where you need to be on time — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Late and early: being where you need to be on time», a lesson of the world course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Being on time is a sum done backwards. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/) / Late and early: being where you need t… # Late and early: being where you need to be on time Lesson 106 of the world course of Mova's primary school: 28 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/0/) — Being on time is a sum done backwards. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/1/) — Ollie wakes at 8:20; school starts at 8:45 and the walk takes 20 minutes. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/2/) — Count back from the start: 8:45 take away 20 minutes is 8:25, the latest he can leave. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/3/) — So he has just 5 minutes to get ready. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/4/) — "Bloody hell, I'm dead," he mutters, meaning he's in big trouble. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/5/) — Important trips need a buffer, spare time in case something goes wrong. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/6/) — Bianca's family planned to leave for the airport at 9:00 but left at 9:25 because Mum lost her passport. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/7/) — The drive is 50 minutes, so they arrive at 10:15, and check-in closes at 10:30: the buffer saved them, with 15 minutes to spare. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/8/) — "On time" means different things in different places. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/9/) — For school, trains, the dentist and a match, be on time or a bit early; a coach who says "if you're on time, you're late" wants you there early to warm up. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/10/) — For a birthday party many people come a little after the start, so arriving at 3:00 sharp can mean sitting alone with the birthday boy's mum. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/11/) — People also joke about time. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/12/) — "Glad you could join us" said to someone 10 minutes late is sarcasm: kind words that really mean "you're late and I noticed". - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/13/) — "Two secs" and "Irish time" are not real times at all. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/14/) — Small lateness adds up: 10 minutes late every school day for about 190 days is 1,900 minutes, more than 31 hours of school missed. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/15/) — To find when to leave, take the journey time away from the time you must arrive: 8:45 − 20 minutes = 8:25. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/16/) — A buffer is extra time kept spare in case something goes wrong, such as a lost passport or traffic. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/17/) — Leaving at 9:25 with a 50-minute drive means arriving at 10:15, which is 15 minutes before a 10:30 check-in closes. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/18/) — Some coaches and teachers want you there before the start, so you can warm up or settle in; "on time" for them means early. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/19/) — At parties in many countries people arrive a little after the start time, but for school, trains and appointments you should be on time. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/20/) — Sarcasm means saying the opposite of what you mean to make a point, like "glad you could join us" to someone who is late. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/21/) — Arriving 5 to 15 minutes early for an appointment is good: you can sit down, calm down and fill in forms. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/22/) — "Irish time" and "island time" are jokes about being relaxed about lateness at casual events; they do not count for school, flights or work. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/23/) — "Two secs", "one sec" and "in a minute" are not real times; they mean soon, and soon can be 10 minutes, which is 600 seconds. - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/24/) — If you will be late, it is polite to tell people early, for example with a text saying "running late". - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/25/) — A school marks the register at a set time; arriving at 9:05 for an 8:55 register is 10 minutes late. - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/26/) — 10 minutes late on about 190 school days adds up to 1,900 minutes, which is more than 31 hours. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/106-late-and-early-being-on-time/27/) — Words people use: "I'm dead" here means "I'm in big trouble", "sharp" means exactly on time, "keen" means eager, "my backside!" means "I don't believe you" (rude-ish, UK), "grand" means fine (Ireland) and "tamping" means furious (Wales). - ← previous: [Alarms, stopwatches and how long a second is](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/105-alarms-stopwatches-how-long-a-second-is/) - next →: [How long until? Counting on across the hour](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/107-how-long-until-counting-on-across-the-hour/) - ↑ back to [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/)