Phrase
a period of time
phrase
一时
a duration or interval of time
In use
I worked for a period of time before taking a break.
After a period of time, things began to improve.
She studied English for a period of time every day.
for a period of time
强调持续的时间段。
He lived in London for a period of time.
他在伦敦住了一段时间。
a period of time when/in which ...
用关系从句具体说明这段时间的特征。
This was a period of time when the economy was booming.
这是一段经济繁荣的时期。
over a period of time
表示在一段时间内发生渐进变化。
The weather changed gradually over a period of time.
天气在一段时间内逐渐变化。
Common mistakes
I will wait for a period of time.I will wait for a while.
在表示‘等一下’时，英语习惯用‘a while’而非‘a period of time’，后者更正式且常指较长的时段，而‘a while’更自然、常用。
It took a period of time to finish the work.It took a while to finish the work.
在表达‘花费一段时间’时，英语常用‘take a while’或‘take some time’，而‘a period of time’显得生硬且不自然，是中文‘一段时间’的直译。
Connections
Dictionary facts from BridgeDict normalized sources.