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If I wanted to say that someone finished in 30 minutes when they had one hour to complete a given task, should I say "he did it in half the time" or "he did it in half of the time"?

The Contender
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    http://www.englishgrammar.org/prepositions-special-points-noted/ omitting prepositions in expressions of time is generally acceptable if the meaning is clear. – ScotM Dec 30 '14 at 17:02
  • @ScotM I think that a perfectly complete answer. It says no more than what I would choose to answer with, were your perfectly good answer not already here as a comment. Could you post it as such? – Jon Hanna Dec 30 '14 at 19:28
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    ... It is the wrong answer. Omitting prepositions in expressions of time renders say 'We've lived here for three years' as 'We've lived here three years'. This is the omission of 'of' from a partitive. Half of the people agree ==> half the people agree. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 30 '14 at 21:03

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The difference is whether the word "half" is used as a noun or an adjective. Half is a noun in "half of the time" and an adjective in "half the time", modifying "time". Because both are gramatical, the only way to chose is because of meter and voice. In Hemmingway-style American terseness, which is what I was taught in school, words that can be omitted should be. "Of" adds nothing in meaning, but takes up a syllable, so for writing for newspapers or radio, leave it out. If writing poetry, go for it if it improves your voice. If using it in fictional prose, it depends on if your character is formal or informal in voice. My grandmother would never have used "in half the time", because of her naturally grandiose voice. She believed that if something could be said slowly, it should be. But then she was an upstate New Yorker who had moved to Alabama as a teen and married into old money (alas now gone).

So, in short, if you are Faulkner, use "of", if Hemmingway, don't. There is no idiom that means maybe-maybe not, because that's just what the words mean. Idioms are for non-litteral use of words. E.g., like teats on a boar hog. People who are unfamiliar with farms still know the phrase, at least in certain parts of the US. Others need it explained. No one needs "half the time" explained to them, unless they are foreign, and then the words themselves can explain it, unlike teats on a boar hog.

Then there's the use of "half time" as a compound adjective, as in "the half-time performance of the marching band", which is never "half-of-time", but is frequently "halftime", especially when used as a noun, as in, "We'll be right back with halftime after a few words from our sponsor."

I'm inclined to say that "half of the time" is old-fashioned. Language gets shorter, not longer over time. "Gigantic and enormous" is now just ginormous. (This happened in the 1940s).

-- Max Crane.

MaxCrane
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I would choose, for that particular context, half of the time.

Half the time is an idiom which means "sometimes", "as often as not". For example, 'my wife can't remember my name half the time' or 'half the time, I don't have the slightest idea what he's talking about'.

Joel
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  • I've heard half the time used in the way the OP wrote many times. The context makes it clear which meaning is intended. – Barmar Dec 30 '14 at 17:41
  • "Have the time" is indeed an idiom, but it's also a perfectly fine combination of words with the meaning the querent requires. – Jon Hanna Dec 30 '14 at 19:29
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    Half the time, I'd probably say "in half of the time", and half of the time I'd probably say "in half the time". The shorter version can be uttered quicker, but not so quick that I could say it in just half the time. – J.R. Dec 30 '14 at 19:30
  • @Barmar I can't think of many other partitives where the of may be dropped. There is the analogous '... finding a job in a third the time ...', but 'A third the people came down with flu' sounds unacceptable (I live in the UK). – Edwin Ashworth Dec 30 '14 at 21:12
  • @EdwinAshworth I agree, it only seems to work for half. I think it's just because it's more common so we've gotten used to the elision. – Barmar Dec 30 '14 at 21:17
  • @Barmar Half us have (ie there are restrictions about dropping the of even with half). But all is an example I've overlooked (all the time / all the men / all the King's horses ...). – Edwin Ashworth Dec 30 '14 at 21:21
  • @EdwinAshworth It seems like a definite article is needed. half the people is OK, but not half people. But both all the people and all people are acceptable (although they have slightly different connotations). – Barmar Dec 30 '14 at 21:25
  • I say "half the time", most of the time. I like my shortcuts. I think it's fine if it's perfectly understandable. – jay_t55 Jan 01 '15 at 17:39