All the time means constantly: something happens again and again. It often carries a note of irritation: He interrupts me all the time. Its second meaning is “the whole time”, throughout a period: It rained all the time we were there.
Want to use all the time in conversation?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
verb + all the time; be + adjective/place + all the time; compare: the best + noun + of all time
- My phone buzzes all the time, so I turn notifications off at work.
- It rained all the time we were in Scotland, but we still loved the trip.
- Our neighbours argue all the time, and we can hear every word.
What changed
First versionMy little brother asks me for money all time.
RevisionMy little brother asks me for money all the time.
Articles are easy to drop, and the in all the time is often lost. But without the you get a different phrase: all time lives in of all time, as in the best film of all time. In the sense of “constantly”, you need the full all the time.
Always also means “constantly”, but it sounds calmer and goes before the verb: He's always late. All the time goes at the end, and the sentence sounds more emotional, often like a complaint: He's late all the time.
Your turn
It's the best album of ___, and I still listen to it every week.
Show the answer
all time — “The best album ever” is the best album of all time, without the. All the time means “constantly” and doesn't appear after of in this kind of comparison.
Describe a habit of someone you know that annoys or amuses you. Say who it is and what they do all the time.
My flatmate sings in the shower all the time, even at six in the morning.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.