If you say that it is just/only a matter of time until something happens, you are saying that it will definitely happen – the only thing you are unsure about is when/how long it will take.
For example – imagine you know someone who is a very dangerous or careless driver. You are sure that at some point he will have an accident. You might say – it’s just a matter of time until he has an accident.
We can also use this expression to talk about things that happened in the past. Looking back, we can see that it was always certain to happen. e.g. He was always a very difficult child, so it was only a matter of time until he got in serious trouble.
Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?
Accent: Ireland
80%
1x
Keyboard Shortcuts
Esc — Play/Pause (rewinds 1.5s)
Ctrl/⌘ + ← — Skip back 1.5s
Ctrl/⌘ + → — Skip forward 1.5s
, .
0%
Keyboard Shortcuts
Esc — Play/Pause (rewinds 1.5s)
Ctrl/⌘ + ← — Skip back 1.5s
Ctrl/⌘ + → — Skip forward 1.5s
He's , so I'm a time until he with .
0%
About the sentence
…until he settles down with someone…
The phrasal verb to settle down means that your life becomes more stable and fixed, usually in terms of starting a family, or moving to a home or area in which you expect to stay for a long time.
Accent: England (RP)
80%
1x
Keyboard Shortcuts
Esc — Play/Pause (rewinds 1.5s)
Ctrl/⌘ + ← — Skip back 1.5s
Ctrl/⌘ + → — Skip forward 1.5s
. .
0%
Keyboard Shortcuts
Esc — Play/Pause (rewinds 1.5s)
Ctrl/⌘ + ← — Skip back 1.5s
Ctrl/⌘ + → — Skip forward 1.5s
I he would get expelled one day. It was .
0%
About the sentence
…I always knew that he would get expelled…
This is an example of the future in the past. When the speaker first made this prediction, she would have said or thought: He will get expelled from school one day. When we look back on this (after he got expelled), will becomes would.
e.g. I thought the film would be awful, but I actually really enjoyed it.
e.g. He promised he would pick me up from the airport but he didn’t turn up.
Accent: Northern England
80%
1x
Keyboard Shortcuts
Esc — Play/Pause (rewinds 1.5s)
Ctrl/⌘ + ← — Skip back 1.5s
Ctrl/⌘ + → — Skip forward 1.5s
. .
0%
Keyboard Shortcuts
Esc — Play/Pause (rewinds 1.5s)
Ctrl/⌘ + ← — Skip back 1.5s
Ctrl/⌘ + → — Skip forward 1.5s
We that boiler . It's only it breaks.
0%
About the sentence
…we need to have that boiler replaced…
This is an example of the causative. We use the structure to have something done to describe a service we receive or arrange, or to talk about something that someone does for us.
Take the example “I’m having my hair cut this weekend”. This structure allows us to focus on the action (cut), the thing that receives the action (my hair) and also the fact that I arrange it or pay for it.
The person that does the action (the hairdresser) is left out because they are obvious. Using the normal sentence structure “a hairdresser is cutting my hair this weekend” sounds unnatural.
Never miss an exercise!
I’ll keep you updated on new exercises I’ve posted. 1-2 emails a month, unsubscribe any time.
Leave a Reply