Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner1]

Hello,

A:'What did you do this afternoon?'
B:'I just sat around and watched TV the whole time.'

Could 'all the time' be used instead of 'the whole time' here without changing the meaning?

Thank you very much.

[CP]

No. Using "the whole time" means for that specific length of time, the whole afternoon. If you used "all the time," it would mean not just that afternoon but every day, all the time, or at least habitually.

He wears jeans and a T-shirt all the time = he almost always wears jeans and a T-shirt.

At the football game, she never watched the players, but just talked on her cell phone the whole time = she was on the phone for the whole game.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[learner1]

Hello CP,

Thank you for giving me such a great explanation.