Time Adverbs 一时 and 不时
Use 一时 for something you can’t do or did on impulse in a brief moment, and 不时 for an action that keeps happening every now and then.
Patrón
subject + 一时 + negative / feeling; subject + 不时 + verb
一时 is one brief moment; 不时 is the same small action again and again.
我一时想不起他的名字了。
Cuándo usar Adverbios de tiempo 一时 y 不时
Both go after the subject and before the verb. 一时 means “for a short moment”: it often comes before a negative or a can’t-do phrase (我一时想不起来 “I can’t recall it right now”), or before a sudden feeling that caused a mistake. 不时 means the opposite kind of time: an action that happens again and again at short intervals (他不时看手表 “he kept checking his watch”).
这个问题一时说不清楚。
This question can’t be explained clearly in a moment.
上课的时候，他不时看看窗外。
During class he glanced out the window every now and then.
路上不时有车开过。
Every now and then a car drove past on the road.
他一时着急，说错了话。
In a moment of panic, he said the wrong thing.
Errores frecuentes
- For a planned arrangement say 我暂时住在朋友家, not 我一时住在朋友家: 一时 is a brief, sudden moment.
- He kept checking his watch is 他不时看手表, not 他一时看手表: 不时 is “again and again”, 一时 is “for a moment”.
- Put 不时 before the verb: 他不时看手机, not 他看手机不时 (unlike English “from time to time” at the end).
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