The first thing we are going to do, before proceeding to determine the meaning of the term adverb of time, is to know where the two main words that compose it etymologically speaking. Specifically, we have to propose these data:
• Adverb is a word that comes from the Latin “adverbium”, which is made up of two clearly defined parts: the prefix “ad-“, which is equivalent to “towards”, and the noun “Verbum”, which can be translated as “word”.
• Time, on the other hand, also comes from Latin. More precisely, it is the result of the evolution of the word “tempus”, which is synonymous with “time, moment or instant”.
According to digopaul, the adverbs are invariable word class of modifying adjectives, verbs or other adverbs, acting as the core of the adverbial phrase or circumstantial complement of the verb.
Adverbs add circumstantial information to a sentence or word. The adverbs of time are those that add time information. These adverbs therefore provide data to answer a question about when an action was, is, or will be.
“Now”, “before”, “after”, “today”, “while”, “soon”, “late”, “early” and “still” are some examples of adverbs of time.
However, the list of adverbs of this type is vast. In this way, it is also common to make use of others such as last night, yesteryear, last night, yesterday, later, slowly, immediately, then, always or recently.
The expression “Now I am writing an email; As soon as I finish it, I will prepare the report ” refers to an action that is being developed at the moment. The adverb of time “now” allows us to notice this.
“Before, I worked as an employee in a butcher shop”, meanwhile, is a phrase that refers to a job that a person had in the past. If other adverbs of time are added, it is possible to mention past, present or even future questions in the same expression: “Before I worked as an employee in a butcher but now I am a supermarket manager”.
“Later I will go to say hello to Martin”, “Today I woke up with a headache”, “As we walk through the center, we can look for the gift for Juana”, “It is too early to find out”, “My boss challenged me by be late ”, “ The movie starts early, so we can go to dinner later ” and “ I’m still sad about what happened to Saul ” are other sentences with adverbs of time.
In the same way, it should not be overlooked that there are some adverbs of time that are specific to specific countries, so that outside their borders they are not used. In this sense, a clear example is the adverb “horita”, which is used very frequently in nations such as Mexico or Cuba.
Likewise, the same situation occurs with “enantes, which is typical of Venezuela or Colombia as well as” until “, which has a special meaning in Ecuador and Mexico. In the latter case, we could qualify that it is used in phrases of this type: “The cinema in the city closes until twelve.”
All this without forgetting that there are also adverbs of time that are considered vulgarisms as “endenantes”.
