“SOME TIME NOW” indicates that a significant amount of time has passed or is expected to pass. It suggests that a considerable duration has elapsed, but it doesn’t specify an exact or precise timeframe. The phrase implies that a significant period has gone by, often used to emphasize the duration of a wait, a process, or an ongoing situation.
“Any day now” indicates that something is expected to happen very soon or in the near future. It implies that the anticipated event, occurrence, or outcome is imminent and could happen at any moment. The phrase conveys a sense of anticipation and readiness, suggesting that the wait or expectation is almost over and the desired outcome is expected to happen without delay.
The following sentences illustrate the usage of each phrase, providing context and demonstrating how the determiner, time noun, and time adverb come together to convey specific or relative points in time or temporal relationships.
THAT TIME AGAIN: “Oh no, it’s that time again when we have to file our taxes.”
In this phrase, “that” is a demonstrative determiner indicating a specific time, and “time” is the noun referring to a particular period. “Again” is a time adverb suggesting the recurrence of the mentioned time.
ANY TIME NOW: “The bus should be arriving any time now.”
“Any” is an indefinite determiner, indicating an unspecified or unknown time. “Now” is a time adverb emphasizing immediacy, suggesting that something is expected to happen soon.
SOME TIME TODAY: “I need to finish this report some time today.”
“Some” is an indefinite determiner, suggesting an unspecified but nonzero amount of time. “Today” is a time adverb specifying the day of the occurrence.
ANY TIME THEREAFTER: “You can return the item within 30 days, but any time thereafter, no refunds will be issued.”
Thereafter” is a time adverb indicating that something will happen after a given point or event.
EACH YEAR THEREAFTER: “After winning the championship, they vowed to defend their title each year thereafter.”
“Each” is a determiner indicating every one of a group or series.
A search in the iWeb corpus for:
_DD _NNT1 _RT
1 SOME TIME NOW 24560
2 ANY DAY NOW 4430
Any day now, I expect to hear news of the engagement.
3 THAT TIME AGAIN 2731
4 ANY TIME NOW 851
5 SOME TIME TODAY 742
6 ANY TIME THEREAFTER 728
7 EACH YEAR THEREAFTER 726
8 THIS YEAR THEN 707
9 ANY MINUTE NOW 675
10 SOME TIME AFTERWARDS 466
11 SOME TIME BEFORE 402
12 THIS YEAR AGAIN 394
13 THIS TIME TOMORROW 342
14 THIS TIME THEN 306
15 ANY TIME BEFORE 272
16 SOME TIME THEN 258
17 THIS WEEK THEN 245
18 THAT TIME THEN 241
19 ANY SECOND NOW 228
20 EACH MONTH THEREAFTER 226
21 THIS SEASON THEN 216
22 THIS MORNING THEN 185
23 THIS WEEKEND THEN 179
24 THIS YEAR NOW 167
25 THIS TIME AGAIN 152
26 ANY TIME HEREAFTER 152
27 SOME TIME TOMORROW 150
28 THAT TIME NOW 146
29 THIS SUMMER THEN 142
30 THAT DAY THEN 142
31 THIS TIME YESTERDAY 137
32 EACH DAY THEN 132
33 THIS TIME NOW 131
34 ANY TIME AFTERWARDS 127