Sometimes vs Sometime vs Some Time

A friend once burst out in a moment of anguish, “English is a horribly confusing language.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

There are so many words and expressions in English that trip us up.

Take for instance, sometimes, sometime and some time. They sound so similar but their meanings are very different.

Let’ s consider their meanings along with examples:

• Sometimes: occasionally, now and then
  Example: "I am so lighthearted that sometimes I even enjoy watching people dancing in the local café." – Vladimir Nabokov, A Letter That Never Reached Russia
• Sometime: at an unspecified or unknown time in the future or past
  Example: I met Gopal sometime back at the Gemini Circus.
• Some time: quite a while, a period of time (usually long)
  Example: It’s been some time since I watched a Bhojpuri movie.

To add to an already confusing set of words, there’s one more issue here: In A Dictionary of Modern American Usage, language expert Bryan A. Garner writes that sometime is also used as an adjective meaning “former.” Although Garner writes that such usage is slightly archaic, I’ve seen seen several instances in newspapers and magazines where “sometime” is used as an adjective for “former.”