Can we take time off from school or office?

[Tom]

Hi

Can we take time off from school or office? For example,

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Basically, I would use 'take time off' when the person who is taking the time off is the same person who makes (or is allowed to make) the decision to take it. In other words, 'take time off' would be inappropriate if you were referring to a youngster in public school, but would work for a university student. In addition, if you simply say "take time off", it probably would be interpreted as more than a day off.

1- I was not feeling well, so I took time off from school. This is not a likely sentence for a person who is under the age of about 18. A younger person might say "I was not feeling well, so I stayed home from school."

2- I was not feeling well, so I took half a day off from school. This is not a likely sentence for a person who is under the age of about 18. A younger person might say "I was not feeling well, so I went to the school nurse. She sent me home sick."

3/4 - The student was not feeling well, so the teacher sent him home.
(A young student.)
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Alan]

Hi Tom,

If you absent yourself from school without permission, you are said to 'play truant'.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Tom]

I am sorry I could not finish the conversation then.

In Pakistan it is VERY COMMON to use the word "off-time" to mention the time when the school closes daily for students and teachers, say 2:00 pm or 3:00 pm. Like the words crib (complain), bed tea and pocket money, it also seems to have been coined by us for I believe there is no noun/ word for that time. Teachers very frequently say to their students.

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Yes, that does appear to be a fairly specialized usage in your neck of the woods. I'd say a typical American equivalent of your last sentence would be this:
OK, see me after school.

We also use 'afterschool' as an adjective. For example, you might talk about a child's 'afterschool activities'.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English