be five minutes late vs be late by five minutes

Both phrases are correct, and they have the same meaning. 'Be five minutes late' is used to indicate arriving late by a specific amount of time. On the other hand, 'be late by five minutes' emphasizes the amount of time by which someone is late. The choice between the two depends on the emphasis you want to place on the timing of being late.

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Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: September 20, 2024 • 18079 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"be five minutes late"

This phrase is used to indicate arriving late by a specific amount of time, in this case, five minutes.

Examples:

I'll be five minutes late for the meeting.
She was five minutes late for the bus.
Don't worry if you're five minutes late, we'll wait for you.
He's always five minutes late to class.
The train was five minutes late.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 08, 2024

Dec 18, 2019 ... "The bus will be five minutes late." The latter phrase is the one that I would always use, but I wasn't sure whether the top phrase was used ...
Feb 23, 2019 ... ... be five minutes late" could be used if you know you're going to be late and wanted to let someone know ahead of time, Or in the same ...
Dec 17, 2016 ... And if I did happen to be five minutes late, and the other person had already left, I would be furio. Continue Reading. In general, yes it's ...
Oct 23, 2023 ... ... pier runner), I have found it easier to be five minutes "late" (maybe TEN, but that's pushing it) when it comes to dinners on a cruis...
Aug 5, 2022 ... Originally Answered: Would you rather always be five minutes late or 20 minutes early for all of your appointments? ·. I have been early for ...
Mar 24, 2018 ... Is it against the law to be five minutes late for court. My boyfriend went to court was literally five min late so they wouldn't let him into ...
Aug 24, 2019 ... If they arrive exactly on time, they're going to be five minutes late. Hence be 5 minutes early. From an employer view point. The extra five ...
Nov 22, 2022 ... “To be five minutes late is not really to be late,” he writes. “Late is when people start getting annoyed. They get annoyed because your ...
Dec 25, 2023 ... Me, if I think I'm gunna even be five minutes late, I text my boss. Upvote

Alternatives:

be ten minutes late
be fifteen minutes late
be twenty minutes late
be thirty minutes late
be an hour late

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"be late by five minutes"

This phrase emphasizes the specific amount of time by which someone is late. It is used to indicate the delay in a more precise manner.

Examples:

She was late by five minutes, but still managed to catch the train.
The presentation started late by five minutes.
He arrived late by five minutes due to traffic.
The flight was delayed by five minutes.
The bus was late by five minutes.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 08, 2024

Dec 18, 2019 ... "The bus will be late by five minutes," works. So to address one of your questions, you don't always have to use "five minutes late."
Nov 29, 2022 ... If your boss allowed you to be late by five minutes to work each day, that means that eleven other people will be sitting idle waiting for ...
You'd only be late by five minutes. In your mind, being late by five is better than twenty. +. A car slowly pulled up to your walking pace and honked ...
Sep 4, 2022 ... If your boss allowed you to be late by five minutes to work each day, that means that eleven other people will be sitting idle waiting for ...
But tonight, you happened to be late, by five minutes that was, which resulted in your phone being blown up from everyone who was waiting for you. The ...
... be late by five minutes for everything'. I groaned at the thought; 'Noooo! Don't ask me to do that! Noooo! My world will fall apart!' But I did do it for ...
Oct 15, 2024 ... Could be late by five minutes or by an hour. It's up to her! Comment if you relate. - #catsofinstagram #kitten #kittenlove #girlcat ...
May 2, 2014 ... #29 Applejack lassoed the whole train and caused everyone on board to be late by five minutes. #30 "And this is when I went to Niagara Falls ...
Mar 4, 2023 ... Parents drop the children to the exam centre, which is different from the school. The students could be late by five minutes or so because of ...

Alternatives:

be late by ten minutes
be late by fifteen minutes
be late by twenty minutes
be late by thirty minutes
be late by an hour

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be five minutes late vs be late by five minutes

"be five minutes late"

"be late by five minutes"

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