IT’S TIME TO GO vs IT’S TIME WE LEFT
The English Subjunctive: “It’s Time We Left” vs. “It’s Time to Leave”
In English, the phrase “It’s time…” can be followed in two different ways, with slightly different meanings:
1️ “It’s time to + verb” → A neutral way to say that the right moment has arrived.
- It’s time to leave. ✅ (We should leave now.)
- It’s time to eat. ✅ (Now is the time to eat.)
2️ “It’s time + subject + past simple” → A more urgent or critical way to say that someone should have already done something.
- It’s time we left. ✅ (We should have already left.)
- It’s time you went to bed. ✅ (You should already be in bed.)
- It’s time you got a job. ✅ (You should already have a job.)
- It’s time I changed my phone. ✅ (My phone is really old.)
⚠️ Important:
- The past simple does NOT indicate past time here—it expresses a hypothetical or unreal situation (like the subjunctive in some other languages).
- This use of a PAST tense to talk about an unreal present is also seen in English type 2 conditional sentences, e.g. If I were you, I wouldn’t buy that computer – it’s overpriced.
- “It’s high time” / “It’s about time” make this even stronger and suggest impatience:
- It’s high time they stopped arguing. ✅ (They should have stopped already!)
- It’s about time we made a decision. ✅ (We should have decided earlier!)
- Real Spoken English: ‘About time too‘ → we use this phrase to express our relief or our opinion when something that should already have happened finally happens. Example situation: after waiting one hour for the bus to arrive → Jim says, “Look, the bus is finally coming!” and Jack replies, “About time too”
Let’s see what you remember – Do the quiz!
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It’s Time… – Interactive Quiz