Jason: It’s about time! I was wondering why you weren’t coming. What happened?
Jen: Sorry about that. There was a car accident on the highway. I came here as fast as I could.
Jason: Ah I see.

Jason이 제게 “It’s about time! I was wondering why you weren’t coming. What happened? 야, 인제야 왔네! 올 시간이 다 됐는데 왜 안 오나 했다. 무슨 일이라도 있었니?” 라고 하자 제가 “Sorry about that. 미안해. There was a car accident on the highway. 고속도로에 교통사고가 났었거든. I came here as fast as I could. 최대한 빨리 온 거야.”라고 했죠.

이어 Jason이 “Ah I see. 아, 그렇구나.” 라고 하더라고요. Keep today’s expression ‘it’s about time’ in mind and let’s hear the conversation again. 그럼 다시 한번 대화를 들어볼까요?

Jason: It’s about time! I was wondering why you weren’t coming. What happened?
Jen: Sorry about that. There was a car accident on the highway. I came here as fast as I could.
Jason: Ah I see.

Today’s expression is it’s about time. This expression is usually said with impatience. It means that it is past the time when something should have happened. It’s about time은 ‘무언가를 할 때가 됐다.’ 또는 ‘이미 … 해야 했다.’ 라는 뜻입니다.

어떤 일이 원하는 시간보다 더 늦게 됐을 때 또는 무언가를 더 일찍 해야 했을 때 쓰면 딱 좋은 표현입니다. 본문에서 제가 제 시간에 안 왔기 때문에 Jason이 불만스러워 했죠. 그러면서 “It’s about time! 야, 인제야 왔니!”라고 했습니다. 자, 어떤 상황인지 그림이 그려지시죠?

이제 예문을 들어 볼까요? Let me give you some examples. “It’s about time Justin grows up.” 라고 하면 “저스틴은 이제 철이 들 때도 됐어.” 라는 뜻이 됩니다.

또 다른 예를 들어 보겠습니다. “My package finally arrived today. It’s about time!” 라고 하면 “내 소포가 결국 오늘 도착했어. 어휴, 인제야 왔네!”라는 뜻이 됩니다. Now you know what the expression ‘it’s about time’ means right? Then we will listen to the conversation for the last time.

Jason: It’s about time! I was wondering why you weren’t coming. What happened?
Jen: Sorry about that. There was a car accident on the highway. I came here as fast as I could.
Jason: Ah I see.

Let’s review. When someone says, “It’s about time!” it means that it’s past the time when something should have happened. IT’S ABOUT TIME. Now try using this expression on your own.