How to say “all the time” like a native speaker
Something happens very often or continuously, depending on the context. In casual speech it may be an exaggeration rather than literally every second.
All phrases · Small talk
Hear “all the time” in real speech
Clip 1 · Sir Ken Robinson
How to escape education's death valley | Sir Ken Robinson | TED · 17:36
About this video
Ken Robinson discusses education and the conditions that help learning grow. He contrasts curiosity with a culture of compliance in which teachers and children are encouraged to follow routines.
In context
and with organic systems, if the conditions are right, life is inevitable.It happens all the time.
You take an area, a school, a district, you change the conditions, give people a different sense of possibility,
Clip 2 · Mel Robbins
How to stop screwing yourself over | Mel Robbins | TEDxSF · 4:46
About this video
Mel Robbins talks about changing habits and taking action on things people want to do. She introduces an exercise involving getting out of bed when an earlier alarm rings.
In context
The f-bomb. It's everywhere!You hear it all the time!
I honestly don't understand what the appeal is of the word.
Clip 3 · Learn English with Bob the Canadian
Let's Learn English! Topic: Action Verbs! 🤲😎🌷 (Lesson Only) · 7:39
About this video
Bob the Canadian teaches action verbs with explanations and examples. He describes physical actions such as punching, kicking and dragging to help learners connect each verb with a movement.
In context
She stacked the boxes in the corner.This happens at my job all the time.
Just yesterday, we had to stack chairs.
When to use “all the time”
- Describing a frequent interruption: “My phone rings all the time.”
- Talking about a childhood habit: “We played that game all the time.”
Common learner mistake
Keep “the” in the phrase: “all the time”, not “all time”, when you mean very often.
Possible connected-speech patterns in “all the time”
Keep “the” short between “all” and “time”. The strongest word is often “time”, especially in a complaint.
Related phrases
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A slow line to begin with: listen to how “don’t need to” runs together, then say it at the speaker’s pace.
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