Discussion of 准时/準時 [zhǔn shí] punctual, on time

Discussion of 准时/準時

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准时 vs 按时:
准时 and 按时 have similar meanings. What are their differences?

准时 is an adjective; 按时 is an adverb.

First of all, 准时 can be used as a predicate in a sentence, 按时 cannot be used in this way:
Example: 小明每天上课都很准时。 [phr] Xiao Ming is punctual for the class every day.
Here 准时 is an adjective used as a predicate in the sentence. We cannot replace it with 按时.

Secondly, both 准时 (adj.) and 按时 (adv.) can be used as adverbial adjuncts in a sentence, but the meanings expressed are slightly different:
Examples:
- 他很高兴，全部的工作最终还是按时完成了。 [phr] He was very glad that all the work was finished in time after all.
- 你应该按时吃药。 [phr] You should take the medicines on time.
- 今天雾这么大，飞机能按时起飞吗？ [phr] Today the fog is so dense. Can the plane still take off on time?

按时 literally means "according to the time set out" is more flexible and less specific than 准时.
If we compare 他很高兴，全部的工作最终还是按时完成了 and 他很高兴，全部的工作最终还是准时完成了:
按时完成 is accurate to the day or month (e.g. the work was done by the first week of June), while 准时完成 implies a more specific deadline, down to the time (e.g. the work was done right on time at 9:30 AM on 1 June 2019).

lisaC

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