Minute, Hour, Week, Month, Year
Verb used with all key words
spend (a year in France)
take (a month to sail to South America)
last (a couple of hours)
wait (for 5 minutes)
waste (half an hour)
Key word + noun
a (30)-minute drive / walk / flight
a (5)-week waiting list
a (4)-year contract
a week's / month's notice
Key word + adjective / adverb
(5) minutes early / late
(6) months pregnant
(8) hours long
the (second) year running
Prepositional phrases
in a couple of minutes
for hours
during the week
at the end of the month
for the past year
(Number or amount) + a + key word
half an hour
(twice) a week
(￡25) an hour
100 (cars) an hour
(40) hours a week
Common expressions
leave something to the last minute
enjoy every minute of (the show)
work long hours
be open 24 hours a day (24/7)
the summer / winter months
have a bad / good / busy week
Exercise
Verb collocations:
Matthew， can I have a quick word! It won‘t take a minute.
My son spends hours surfing the internet every day.
It's taken me a whole week to write this essay!
I had to wait weeks for my new passport to arrive!
If you take good care of your bike, it should last for years.
Key word + noun
My house is only a 5-minute walk from the school. - d
I think it's about a six-hour flight from London to New York. -c
I have to give at least two months' notice if I want to leave my job. - e
There's now a six-month waiting list for a heart by-pass operation. - a
Raul has signed a new three-year contract with Real Madrid. - b
Key word + adjective / adverb
Most films nowadays are about two hours long.
I was ten minutes late for my interview because I missed my bus.
Manchester United have won the cup for the third year running.
My wife's about five months pregnant now.
We'd better have a coffee. We don't want to arrive a whole hour early.
Prepositional phrases
Hang on. I'll be ready in a few minutes. - c
I was awake for hours last night. - e
I don't go out much during the week. - d
I've been out of work for the past year. - b
I get paid at the end of the month. - a
(Number / amount) + a + key word
On average, I work about 35 hours a week.
The job's not that well-paid. I only get ￡4 an hour.
I get my hair cut about once a month.
Edinburgh Castle attracts more than half a million tourists a year.
I waited for nearly 30 minutes, but he didn't show up.
Common expressions
The shop is very busy just now, so I'm working long hours - about 60 a week! - d
It's quite cold here in winter and very hot during the summer months. - e
The supermarket is open 24 hours a day. - f
Why do you always leave things to the last minute! - a
I went skiing for the first time last week and enjoyed every minute of it. - c
Don't mention the office! I've had a bad week! - b
Notes
Note that in all the sentences in exercise 5, except no 5, we can use 'per' in place of a / an:
He was driving at over 150 km per hour when the police stopped him.
Note these expressions:
That's the best news I've heard all week!
My kids get endless hours of fun from computer games.
I've just bought a new house, so I can't afford to go on holiday this year.