Timing and timings

[Tom]

Hi

I really do not know when to use what!

Timing and timings

Could you please shed some light on the difference?

Tom

[Haihao]

Could I suggest they are just a noun and a plural noun? Ex. A bad timing screwed up our plan; Bad timings one after another keeps our project up in the air.

[Alan]

Hi Tom,

Timing on its own has the idea of pace and delivery. It is often used to describe the way a comedian(comic) tells a story and indicates the pauses between either words or sentences and also with reference to the way an actor delivers their lines. You know how an audience is moved to react according to the pace at which an actor plays their part.

Timings to me suggests details of the time taken by different athletes or cars in a race.

Just some thoughts this morning, which may or may not help.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Tom]

Many thanks, Alan

Just realised now that I still need some more light on the following. (Sorry). Perhaps an example for each would help.

[auldglory]

Various uses of time:

as an indication of emphasis in music (noun):
Waltzes are played in 3/4 time. The drummer was off time by a half beat.

as a specific moment (noun):
What time is it? The time is 12:02. It is time for us to go.

As a measure of duration (noun):
How much time until the roast is done? How much more time do we have to wait? How much time before we go? Your time for running two miles is amazing.

As an action (verb):
Doug timed the swimmer's laps. They plan to time the test.

-ing form:

(noun)
Jon's timing was off. Timing a car race is a difficult feat.

(Verb)
He was timing things close.

and there are a lot of other shades of meaning and functions.

check out www.bartelby.com it is a great resource for english grammar, style, and usage.
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[Yankee]

Hi Tom

I would suggest looking at the usage of timing vs timings in the BNC:

timing
timings

Generally speaking, I would say that the plural form ('timings') would be used far less often than the singular ('timing').
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English