Some time vs. Sometime

In the late 1960s, Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote a hopeful song about new love. The song captures the moment when a man realizes that a certain lady is “the one.” He can truly be himself; he “need no longer wear a disguise.” In the early 1970s, Carole King and Toni Stern composed a bittersweet song. In it, they talk about a relationship that ended because of a mistake. “I really fell out of line this time; I really missed the gate.” The song expresses hope that change is possible. “But, like the young trees in the winter time, I’ll learn how to bend.” However, the song also acknowledges that change takes effort and time.

The title of Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s song is “Sometime in the Morning.” The song that Carole composed with Toni Stern is “It’s Going to Take Some Time.” Why does Carole separate “some time” with a space in her second song? Does that space make a difference? Yes! The space between the words changes the meaning of the phrase. What is the meaning of each term? How can you distinguish some time and sometime?

First, the definitions. Sometime means “at an indefinite or unstated time.” It is an adverb.

Sometime in the morning
A simple thought may occur to you
And you hold her and tell her
All the things you never told her

What time in the morning did this simple thought occur? The songwriters probably didn’t think it essential, or lyrical, to reveal the exact hour her besotted suitor had his revelation. So sometime, without the space, is appropriate for this lyric.

Sometime can also function as an adjective. As such, it has three possible meanings.

Having been formerly; former:
Sometime husband Gerry Goffin was Carole King’s frequent songwriting collaborator.

At times or to some extent:
Occasionally drawing on her life experiences, songwriter Carole King fits the description of a sometime autobiographer.

Undependable or of questionable loyalty:
The girl described in The Monkees’ song “Sometime in the Morning” is no sometime girlfriend.

Some time, written as two words, means “a period of time.” Some is an adjective describing the noun time.

So, it’s one more round for experience
And I’m on the road again,
And it’s going to take some time this time!

Here, the songwriters convey the idea that personal change will happen slowly, over a span of time. The exact amount of time isn’t known, but it won’t be all at once or at a particular point in time. In most instances, the connotation of some time is “a long period” relative to the normal duration of the activity. Getting over a heartbreak may take some time (years) whereas roasting a chicken for some time may refer to mere hours.

And there you have it! Sometime refers to a time that is undefined or unstated. Some time refers to a span of time. Thanks to Carole King and her collaborators for writing beautiful songs that teach us about love and the English language. Why not listen to them sometime?

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from Grammarly Blog
http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/some-time-vs-sometime/