# all the time



## simonaj

" I talk with her all the time ": cosa significa "all the time", tutto il tempo?
Thanks


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## fox71

Credo proprio di sì! Significa "in continuazione"


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## Necsus

Continuamente; in continuazione; sempre; per tutto il tempo.


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## sweet_jane

Doesn't "in continuazione" mean "nonstop"? In simonaj's quote "all the time" means "very often"


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## lsp

sweet_jane said:
			
		

> Doesn't "in continuazione" mean "nonstop"? In simonaj's quote "all the time" means "very often"


Yes, you're right. It should be "spesso."


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## Necsus

In my opinion here it means 'senza sosta' (so 'nonstop', so 'in continuazione')...


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## lsp

Necsus said:
			
		

> In my opinion here it means 'senza sosta' (so 'nonstop', so 'in continuazione')...


That's not the knee-jerk reaction I'd have to hearing (the very common usage of all the time meaning often, as in: ...) "I talk with her all the time."


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## sweet_jane

lsp said:
			
		

> That's not the knee-jerk reaction I'd have to hearing (the very common usage of all the time meaning often, as in "I talk with her all the time."


 
My knee-jerk reaction too 

There's absolutely no way "all the time" can mean "nonstop" in that sentence


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## Necsus

Lsp, you are the English speaker, so you are right of course (all the time=very often)! I don't clearly understand if because of my bad English I gave you the impression I think to be absolutely in the right, but in this case I repeat that that was only my opinion.


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## lsp

sweet_jane said:
			
		

> My knee-jerk reaction too
> 
> There's absolutely no way "all the time" can mean "nonstop" in that sentence


Good. I was wondering if my native understanding might not speak for other native English speakers!


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## sweet_jane

Necsus said:
			
		

> Lsp, you are the English speaker, so you are right of course (all the time=very often)! I don't clearly understand if because of my bad English I gave you the impression I think to be in the right ("the knee-jerk reaction I'd have to hearing"), but in this case I repeat that this was only my opinion.


 
No, that's not what lsp means 

What she is saying is that her "instinctive" (knee-jerk) reaction (as a native speaker) to hearing "I talk with her all the time" would be to take it as meaning "often". That's all


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## Necsus

But why Garzanti Hazon says:
*time*
*2* tempo; periodo, lasso di tempo: _all the -_, (per) tutto il tempo, continuamente



			
				sweet_jane said:
			
		

> No, that's not what lsp means


Yes, sweet_jane. Thanks. I've understood it after your previous post (in Lsp post I didn't know where brackets close!)


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## sweet_jane

Necsus said:
			
		

> But why Garzanti Hazon says:
> *time*
> *2* tempo; periodo, lasso di tempo: _all the -_, (per) tutto il tempo, continuamente


 
I'm not very good at explaining but I think "all the time" can mean either "often" or "nonstop". In "I talk with her all the time" it can only mean "often".

He talks incessantly/nonstop/all the time

We bump into each other all the time (we keep bumping into each other). Here it means "often"


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## Necsus

sweet_jane said:
			
		

> I'm not very good at explaining but I think "all the time" can mean either "often" or "nonstop". In "I talk with her all the time" it can only mean "often".
> He talks incessantly/nonstop/all the time
> We bump into each other all the time (we keep bumping into each other). Here it means "often"


Okay, I understand. So you think I cannot say e.g. "Whenever we meet I talk with her all the time"?

I'd translate "We bump into each other all the time (we keep bumping into each other)" as "Non facciamo che imbatterci l'uno nell'altro" or "Ci imbattiamo continuamente/in continuazione l'uno nell'altro". I think the problem is that 'continuamente/in continuazione' in Italian doesn't mean only 'ininterrottamente' (continuously), but also 'ripetutamente', 'frequentemente' (repeatedly), so we use it as 'often'.
But frankly I wouldn't translate "I talk with her all the time" as "Io parlo con lei spesso".


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## sweet_jane

Well if "continuamente" can mean both "nonstop" and "frequentemente" then it's the same as "all the time". So it can be used to translate "all the time" in simonaj's sentence.

Originally you said:



> In my opinion here it means 'senza sosta' (so 'nonstop', so 'in continuazione')...


 
so I thought that "continuamente" and "in continuazione" only meant "nonstop".

Maybe it's confusing for Italians because in English there's a difference between "continually" and "continuously". 

I have to go now so maybe someone else can explain the difference


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## lsp

Thanks, *SJ*. Knee-jerk is exactly as you explained, instinctive.

*Necsus*, "I talk with her all the time" is a very common conversational construction. There's little doubt as to its meaning, I promise (We talk to each other _really_ often). 

Maybe the difference in English among these very interesting words does not correspond to the Italian (and I would bet a boatload of money that a survey of typical Americans would prove that we use the words interchangeably even though they mean different things). Your saying "continuamente/in continuazione" makes me think they are in fact interchangeable in Italian, and that might explain the confusion.

CONTINUALLY 
adv. It does it again and again (start … end, start … end, …and so on)

CONTINUOUS 
adj. It begins and never ends (start ……… no end)

CONSTANTLY 
adv. Without interruption; "the world is constantly changing"
adv. Seemingly uninterrupted; "constantly bullied by his big brother"; "was perpetually answering the doorbell"
adv. Without variation or change; "constantly kind and gracious"

_EDIT: I didn't even see your reference to this before I posted, Sweet!_


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## Necsus

sweet_jane said:
			
		

> I have to go now so maybe someone else can explain the difference


It's very clear, thank you. I'll go too.


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## Jacob

Necsus said:
			
		

> Okay, I understand. So you think I cannot say e.g. "Whenever we meet I talk with her all the time"?



Nope, you can't say that. You could say "Whenever we meet I talk to her the whole time."


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## Necsus

lsp said:
			
		

> *Necsus*, "I talk with her all the time" is a very common conversational construction. There's little doubt as to its meaning, I promise (We talk to each other _really_ often).


And I can't say a sentence like: "Whenever we meet I talk with her all the time"? (from my post #9)



			
				lsp said:
			
		

> Your saying "continuamente/in continuazione" makes me think they are in fact interchangeable in Italian, and that might explain the confusion.


Yes, I said this in the same post. 


			
				lsp said:
			
		

> CONTINUALLY = ripetutamente / in continuazione
> adv. It does it again and again (start … end, start … end, …and so on)
> 
> CONTINUOUS = ininterrottamente / in continuazione
> adj. It begins and never ends (start ……… no end)
> 
> CONSTANTLY = costantemente / continuamente
> adv. Without interruption; "the world is constantly changing"
> adv. Seemingly uninterrupted; "constantly bullied by his big brother"; "was perpetually answering the doorbell"
> adv. Without variation or change; "constantly kind and gracious"


Thanks, Lsp.  

Edit: Sorry, Jacob, I didn't see your post.
Thank you!


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## lsp

Jacob said:
			
		

> Nope, you can't say that. You could say "Whenever we meet I talk to her the whole time."


 "the whole time" (rolls right off the tongue!)

_p.s. where in the h does that quote come from?! _


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## Necsus

Jacob said:
			
		

> Nope, you can't say that. You could say "Whenever we meet I talk to her the whole time."


So 'whole' instead of 'all'. And the expression "the whole time" means what in previous examples of Lsp? Constantly?


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## darkmatter

Whenever we meet I talk to her the whole time. the whole time means the entire time in that specific moment when you were talking to her.


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## Necsus

Uff... I really can't understand! 
And so what's the difference between "al the time" and "the whole time"? The first one is not for the entire time, it's just an action repeated in a period of time?


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## brian

_John and Jane bump into each other all the time (nearly every day perhaps), and when they do they talk the whole/entire time (there is not a moment of silence)._

*Here of course I'm assuming that when they bump into each other, they don't keep walking but instead stop to talk for a short while, in the span of which there is constant talking.

I'd like to know the Italian equivalent to the above.  Perhaps:

_John e Jane si imbattono tutto il tempo (frequentemente/spesso), e quando fanno così si parlano per tutto il tempo._

I used "(per) tutto il tempo" for both because I'm curious if the expression can mean both things in Italian (i.e., frequently/very often as well as continuously within a period of time).


Brian


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## Necsus

brian8733 said:
			
		

> _John and Jane bump into each other all the time (nearly every day perhaps), and when they do they talk the whole/entire time (there is not a moment of silence)._


Thank you, Brian.


			
				brian8733 said:
			
		

> I'd like to know the Italian equivalent to the above.


This is exactly the problem, if you have read previous posts in the thread...


			
				brian8733 said:
			
		

> _John e Jane si imbattono l'uno nell'altra tutto il tempo (frequentemente/[molto] spesso), e ogni volta che succede (si) parlano per tutto il tempo (ininterrottamente)._


So it seems that "all the time" means only "[very] often", but I use it also to say 'ininterrottamente', for the entire span, I'm wrong then?


			
				brian8733 said:
			
		

> I used "(per) tutto il tempo" for both because I'm curious if the expression can mean both things in Italian (i.e., frequently/very often as well as continuously within a period of time).


We I usually translate "all the time" as "in continuazione", that means both "ripetutamente" and "ininterrottamente".


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## darkmatter

In English "all the time" almost always means "very often."


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## brian

Ciao Necsus,

If you mean to say _ininterrottamente_, then you should definitely use _the whole/entire time_, not _all the time._  I really cannot think of an example when _all the time_ literally means what it says.  So I think we can conclude that:

_all the time = frequentemente, molto spesso, in continuazione [ripetutamente]_

_the whole time = tutto il tempo, ininterrottamente_

Right?


Brian


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## darkmatter

I can try and offer an italian translation. Per esempio, hai un'appuntamento con un amico, e tutti i due pranzano in un ristorante. Tu e lui parlate per tutto il tempo in quel ristorante. Più tardi, direi "abbiamo parlato per tutto il tempo." In English you would translate "abbiamo parlato per tutto il tempo" as "we talked for the whole/entire time." 

Hope that helps in any way!


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## brian

darkmatter said:
			
		

> I can try and offer an italian translation. Per esempio, hai un'appuntamento con un amico, e tutti i due pranzano in un ristorante. Tu e lui parlate per tutto il tempo in quel ristorante. Più tardi, direi "abbiamo parlato per tutto il tempo." In English you would translate "abbiamo parlato per tutto il tempo" as "we talked for the whole/entire time."
> 
> Hope that helps in any way!


Right.  What if you wanted to say "My friend and I have lunch all the time (as in, multiple times a week or something)"?

_Il mio amico ed io pranziamo molto spesso/frequentemente/tutto il tempo...

_Does _tutto il tempo_ not work here?  If it does work, then I'm starting to get even more confused. 


Brian


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## darkmatter

Haha, I think we need someone who is fluent in both Italian AND English to clarify everything, with translations in each language haha!


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## moodywop

This is what I would say:

(about someone butting in all the time - very often, repeatedly)

non fa che interrompermi
m'interrompe ogni cinque minuti
m'interrompe continuamente
m'interrompe in continuazione

(about someone suffering from cronic logorrhea - nonstop, incessantly)

parla senza sosta
parla senza interrompersi mai
parla in continuazione
parla continuamente
(these of course do not mean that he talks nonstop 24/7 but that when he opens his mouth he unleashes an unstoppable verbal avalanche)

Now, interestingly, if I added "di te" to the last sentence to me it would mean that "he talks about you all the time (annoyingly often).

I think I mostly use "(per) tutto il tempo" when followed by a relative clause:

Non ha alzato un dito per aiutarmi tutto il tempo che è stato qui
Non ha fatto altro che lamentarsi per tutto il tempo (here the relative clause is implied - I mentioned something earlier, e.g. that the whiner and I went out for a meal)

I'll try to think of more examples

EDIT: I have to dash but it has just occurred to me that not only would I use "(per) tutto il tempo" with an actual or implied relative clause but *mostly *to describe past actions. Just a thought. This thread has proved more stimulating than I would have expected


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## Necsus

Darkmatter, Brian, thanks a lot. I clearly understand your explications.
But I'm afraid that the problem exists, because I think I'm not the only Italian that use 'all the time' in this meaning (see post #2), and especially because:
- from Garzanti Hazon:
*time*
*2* tempo; periodo, lasso di tempo: _*all the -*_, (per) tutto il tempo, continuamente
- from Longman:
7 *all the time* also *the whole time* continuously or very often: 
I keep practising and I'm improving all the time.
He worries about her the whole time.
- from WR:
*all the time*= tutto il tempo

Edit - Sorry, Carlo. I didn't see your post, I'll read it now.


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## moodywop

Figurati, Necsuccio . Fai benissimo a torchiare i madrelingua. Queste sono proprio le sfumature che, nonostante tutti gli anni passati fra gli indigeni, non riesco a cogliere. L'unico modo per capire bene queste sfumature è torchiarli ben bene. Dopo torno a darti manforte


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## darkmatter

Necsus said:
			
		

> He worries about her the whole time.


 
I would say "He worries about her _all the time_." This is because of the present tense "worries," implying that it happens on multiple occasions. However, if you said "He worried about her the whole time (during the vacation)," that would sound correct, because it is a completed action that happened at a certain time (during the vacation).

I really hope I am not confusing you!


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## brian

moodywop said:
			
		

> Figurati, Necsuccio . Fai benissimo a torchiare i madrelingua. Queste sono proprio le sfumature che, nonostante tutti gli anni passati fra gli indigeni, non riesco a cogliere. L'unico modo per capire bene queste sfumature è torchiarli ben bene. Dopo torno a darti manforte


E ci torchia davvero Necsus!


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## brian

darkmatter said:
			
		

> I would say "He worries about her _all the time_." This is because of the present tense "worries," implying that it happens on multiple occasions. However, if you said "He worried about her the whole time (during the vacation)," that would sound correct, because it is a completed action that happened at a certain time (during the vacation).
> 
> I really hope I am not confusing you!


I agree.  And I think, based on Carlo's edit, that Italian may work the same here.  Vedo l'ora di leggere ciò che Carlo ha di(?) offrirci.


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## lsp

darkmatter said:
			
		

> I would say "He worries about her _all the time_." This is because of the present tense "worries," implying that it happens on multiple occasions. However, if you said "He worried about her the whole time (during the vacation)," that would sound correct, because it is a completed action that happened at a certain time (during the vacation).


Excellent distinction. I was struggling to figure out how to explain the same thing.


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## Necsus

darkmatter said:
			
		

> I would say "He worries about her _all the time_." This is because of the present tense "worries," implying that it happens on multiple occasions. However, if you said "He worried about her the whole time (during the vacation)," that would sound correct, because it is a completed action that happened at a certain time (during the vacation).
> I really hope I am not confusing you!


Don't worry, Dark, I'm already confused!  So you just confirm me that there are some problems translating this expression...

Edit - I see your point and I agreed with you, but then why a dictionary quote such an example?
And I'm keeping on find examples. From Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus:
*Main Entry:* night and day
*Part of Speech:* _adverb_
*Definition:* continually
*Synonyms:* all the time, at all hours, perpetually, round the clock


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## moodywop

(sorry, a forera from a rough Roman neighbourhood is coming to visit tomorrow so I had to stick all the valuables in my safe deposit box and lock away anything alcoholic)

Brian , I wasn't kidding about putting the squeeze on the natives. Necsus' questions brought up some interesting differences and borderline false friends.
I think the only way to get to the bottom of this is to give lots of examples in both languages and compare them.

Let's try making a comprehensive list(please feel free to add more):

Italian: (per) tutto il tempo, continuamente, in continuazione, di continuo, ininterrottamente, senza sosta

English: all the time, the whole time, continually, continuously, nonstop, incessantly

Maybe "talking" is a good activity to use in the examples, since you can talk nonstop on one occasion or talk frequently but for a brief time.

*Non stop talking*

Italian: parla continuamente, in continuazione, di continuo, ininterrottamente, senza sosta

English: He talks nonstop, incessantly (continuously?)

I think we can also say "parla tutto il tempo *lui*" but, although this implies nonstop talking, the emphasis is on his hogging the conversation, on his monopolizing the entire time available. Would "the whole time" be used here?

Then there's "passa tutto il tempo al telefono" - this is a hyperbole, he can only spend *most *of the time on the phone. It can refer to his spending most of his time on the phone generally or on specific occasions (quando viene a trovarmi passa tutto il tempo al telefono - non riesco a dirgli neanche una parola)

*Frequent, repeated actions or activities*

This is where Italian is less precise than English. Continuamente, in continuazione, di continuo, which meant "nonstop" in the previous example, can also be used for "(annoyingly) often", continually.

Mi telefonava continuamente, in continuazione, di continuo. Ho dovuto cambiare numero

Incidentally, here's an Italian description of a patient suffering from "pressione dell'eloquio" :

_il modo di parlare del paziente è molto caratteristico. Le parole sono _
_pronunciate a torrenti, precipitosamente, con voce alta e intensa. In questo modo di parlare c'è una qualità insistente, inarrestabile, che non tollera __interruzioni altrui - un fenomeno chiamato pressione dell'eloquio_


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## brian

Carlo, I agree about Necsus putting the squeeze on us.  We don't have a very good idiom for this, so I just wanted to repeat my newly learned Italian idiom (I had to look up torchiare on De Mauro. Very Italian )

I'm starting to think that, at least in English, it has a lot to do with the time period in question.  I think _all the time_ is much more general and describes a more sparse period of time, while _the whole time_ is more specific and describes a finite interval of time.  Since _the whole time_ describes a specific interval of time, it must follow that this interval of time has already elapsed; hence, _the whole time_ is mostly reserved for the past tense.

This is why when we are talking about nonstop action (the 1st of Carlo's categories) we speak in present tense and use _all the time_:

_George talks all the time.  He never seems to close his mouth._

Now, confine this example to a specific period of time, and we have:

_At the party Saturday, George talked the whole time.  He never seemed to close his mouth._

Now, we can switch time perspectives and still use both phrases.  You just have to keep in mind the interval of time in question.  Let's consider the telefonava example.  Here, we're using the imperfect tense, which is habitual, so it implies a less specific interval of time, so we use _all the time_:

_Mi telefonava continuamente, ecc. = He used to call me all the time._

If we confine this to a specific interval, we have something like:

_Quando ero alla festa, mi telefonava continuamente, ecc. = When I was at that party, he called me the whole time.  (The whole time I was at the party he was calling me = He was calling me every second at the party)_

Now let's look at _passa tutto il tempo al telefono_.  In general, without a specific interval of time, we have:

_Passa tutto il tempo al telefono = He spends all his time on the phone._

Confine:

_Quando va ad una festa, passa tutto il tempo al telefono = When he goes to a party, he spends the whole time on the phone. _(You could get away with saying, _...he spends all his time on the phone._)

I'd also like to mention quickly that Carlo's edit--





			
				moodywop said:
			
		

> EDIT: I have to dash but it has just occurred to me that not only would I use "(per) tutto il tempo" with an actual or implied relative clause but *mostly *to describe past actions. Just a thought. This thread has proved more stimulating than I would have expected


prompted me to consider the same thing in English.  Like I said, since _the whole time_ refers to a specific interval, it is finite and can therefore be considered a chunk, or a whole, and can therefore be referred to as one piece of time--it can be the antecedent of a relative clause.  _All the time_ cannot.  For example:

_The whole [interval of] time [in which] I was at the party he kept calling me.

_That's about it for now.


Brian


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## moodywop

Grazie, Brian! Una spiegazione precisa e chiarissima 

I'll try to think of more possible nuances in Italian but not now or I'll fry my synapses


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## brian

I look forward to it, but please save your synapses first, as this forum is quite indebted to and reliant on them.

I find it also curious that _(per) tutto il tempo_ seems to have a much more limited use than _all the time_ and _the whole time_ together.  Italian would rather use the many other phrases you and Necsus and others have mentioned.  Could you provide any other examples for _(per) tutto il tempo_?


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## Necsus

Brian said:
			
		

> Could you provide any other examples for _(per) tutto il tempo_?


I'd say that _(per) tutto il tempo_ has a very limited use, it means _per (tutta) la durata _or _finché_:

- Siamo andati al cinema e lui ha dormito (per) tutto il tempo.
- Puoi restare qui (per) tutto il tempo che vuoi.
- Rimarrà in funzione (per) tutto il tempo che sarà necessario.
- Sarà al tuo fianco (per) tutto il tempo del viaggio.
- Il percorso formativo dura (per) tutto il tempo del contratto.
- Siamo stati col fiato sospeso (per) tutto il tempo.
- E' possibile usufruire del servizio (per) tutto il tempo desiderato.
- I giornalisti non ci mollarono (per) tutto il tempo del convegno
- E lì rimase (per) tutto il tempo di una generazione


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## SONOUNANGELO

Ciao WR
Ho mandato un PM a ciccioccello67 e al MOD, 


> *at all time*
> 
> Si tratta di un annuncio fatto in aeroporto:
> "Please do not leave your bags unattended. Keep your bags with you at all time."
> Cosa vuol dire at all time, sempre?
> Grazie ciao


e mi hanno suggerito di aggiungere il mio post a questo thread

originally posted by SONOUNANGELO
_Ciao amici di WR:_

_Queste sono le due frasi che si sentono in aeroporto _

_1-Keep Your Baggage/lugagge With You (*at all times*) _

Qui "at all times" (e non "at all time")vuol dire *sempre (the whole time)*, che credo non sia usato nello stesso modo che "all the time" nel interessantissimo thread aggiunto da paulfromitaly, che di solito vuol dire "molto spesso"

2-Please *don't leave your luggage unattended* at any time.

Quest'altra frase vuol dire lo stesso, ma formulata nel negativo : Mai lasciare incustodito...(non so come finire la frase). Nella web del aeroporto di Bologna si può leggere: 
"Attenzione: non lasciare il proprio bagaglio incustodito durante la permanenza in aeroporto.", che, secondo me, sarebbe il equivalente.

Scusate il mio imperfetto italiano

Notte


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## Necsus

SONOUNANGELO said:


> Quest'altra frase vuol dire lo stesso, ma formulata nel negativo : Mai lasciare incustodito...(non so come finire la frase)


...il (proprio) bagaglio.


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## SONOUNANGELO

Grazie mille, Necsus!

"Mai lasciare incustodito il proprio bagaglio".

(Adesso che lo dici tu, sembra ovvio...Avrei dovuto saperlo!


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