Time & Daily Life Idioms

1- Around the clock – all day and all night
Example: The nurses worked around the clock to help patients.

2- In the nick of time – just in time
Example: He arrived in the nick of time for the meeting.

3- Better late than never – it’s better to do something late than not at all
Example: He finally finished his studies—better late than never.

4- Call it a day – stop working for the day
Example: We were tired, so we called it a day.

5- Day in, day out – every day repeatedly
Example: She works hard day in, day out.

6- Time flies – time passes quickly
Example: Time flies when you’re having fun.

7- Once in a blue moon – very rarely
Example: He visits us once in a blue moon.

8- At the eleventh hour – at the last moment
Example: They finished the project at the eleventh hour.

9- Behind the times – not modern or up to date
Example: His ideas are behind the times.

10- Make up for lost time – do something quickly to recover wasted time
Example: We studied hard to make up for lost time.

26– redundancies (noun) – people losing their jobs
Example: The recession led to compulsory redundancies.

27– voluntary redundancy (noun) – losing your job by offering to leave
Example: She accepted voluntary redundancy.

28– compulsory redundancy (noun) – losing your job without choice
Example: Some workers faced compulsory redundancy.

29– strike (noun) – when workers stop working as protest
Example: The strike lasted for three days.

30– skeleton staff (noun) – minimum number of workers needed
Example: The office ran with a skeleton staff during the holiday.

31– interview panel (noun) – group of people interviewing someone
Example: The interview panel asked difficult questions.

Future Perfect Tense

1- What is Future Perfect?

The future perfect tense is used to talk about an action that will be completed before a specific time in the future.

2- Structure / Form

Affirmative Positive
Subject + will have + past participle PP.

Examples
I will have finished my homework.
She will have left by tomorrow.
They will have completed the project.

Negative
Subject + will not have + PP.

Examples
I will not have finished my homework.
He will not have arrived yet.

Interrogative Questions
Will + subject + have + PP?

Examples
Will you have finished your work?
Will she have arrived by then?

3- Uses

a) Completed action before a future time

Examples
I will have eaten before you come.
She will have finished the exam by 10 am.

b) To show deadlines or plans

Examples
They will have built the house by next year.
We will have completed the course by June.

c) To guess or predict something in the past (future view)

Examples
He will have arrived by now.
They will have heard the news already.

4- Time Expressions
by, by the time, before, already, by tomorrow, by next year

Examples
By the time you arrive, I will have finished.
She will have already left.

5- Future Perfect vs Future Simple

Future Perfect = completed before future time

Future Simple = just future action

Examples
I will finish my homework.
I will have finished my homework by 8 pm.

6- Important Notes

Use past participle V3 such as done, gone, eaten, seen.
We often use “by” to show deadline

Example
By 2026, I will have graduated.

7- Common Mistakes

I will have finish my work is not correct.
I will have finished my work is correct.

She will has finished is not correct.
She will have finished is correct.