Close menu
3

Unit 3: English In A Minute
Give us a minute and we'll teach you English

Select a unit

  1. 1English In A Minute
  2. 2English In A Minute
  3. 3English In A Minute

Session 19

Welcome to English In A Minute. Give us a minute and we'll give you a hot tip about English vocabulary... there's so much to learn! And all taught by your favourite BBC Learning English staff!

Sessions in this unit

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100

Session 19 score

0 / 3

  • 0 / 3
    Activity 1
  1. Activity 1

Activity 1

Common uses of 'period'

Learn how to use 'period'

Watch the video and complete the activity

Show transcriptHide transcript

Let's learn some common uses of the word period.

Firstly, period can be used as a noun to refer to a specific length of time. It is often used in expressions such as over a period, during a period and a period of time.

We'll observe the patient's weight for a period of three months.

Period can also be used to talk about a time in a person's life or in history. When using period in this way, this time is often defined by certain conditions or characteristics. The word period usually has an adjective before it.

I went through a difficult period when I returned to the UK.

In school, we can use period to refer to a part of a day when a specific subject is taught.

I have maths in the second period on Tuesday.

Finally, period in American English refers to the punctuation mark which shows the end of a sentence. In British English we refer to this as a full-stop.

Is that a period or a comma? 

Period

Period can be used as a noun to refer to a specific length of time. It is often used in expressions such as over a period, during a period and a period of time.

  • We'll observe the patient's weight for a period of three months.
  • During this period, we normally get a lot of rain.

Period can also be used to talk about a time in a person's life or in history. It often has an adjective in front of it. 

  • I went through a difficult period when I returned to the UK.
  • The Elizabethan period was famous for its playwrights such as Shakespeare.

In school, we can use period to refer to a part of a day when a specific subject is taught.

  • I have maths in the second period on Tuesday.
  • Mrs Jackson takes us for art in the last period on a Friday.

Period in American English refers to the punctuation mark which shows the end of a sentence. In British English we refer to this as a 'full-stop'.

  • Is that a period or a comma?
  • Some writers need to use more periods in their paragraphs as their sentences are too long.

 ____________________________________________________________________________________________

To do

Try our quiz to see how well you've learned today's language. 

English In A Minute Quiz

3 Questions

Test your understanding of this lesson with our quiz!

Congratulations you completed the Quiz
Excellent!Great job!Bad luck!You scored:
x / y

Downloads 

You can download a PDF document for this episode here.

More

We hope you enjoyed English in a Minute. You can find more episodes here. 

Download centre

Latest course content