Breakdown of Ich habe nur noch zehn Minuten Zeit.
ich
I
haben
to have
die Zeit
the time
die Minute
the minute
Questions & Answers about Ich habe nur noch zehn Minuten Zeit.
In this sentence, what exactly does nur noch mean? Is it just only?
nur noch together normally means only … left or no more than … anymore.
- nur = only
- noch = still, (any) more, yet
When you combine them, nur noch zehn Minuten is best understood as only ten minutes left (and then time is up). It implies that the amount of time has become small and is running out.
Compare:
- Ich habe nur zehn Minuten. – I only have ten minutes. (neutral about whether time is running out)
- Ich habe nur noch zehn Minuten. – I only have ten minutes left. (stronger feeling that time is almost over)
Why does German use habe (have) here? Why not something like bleiben (remain), like I have ten minutes left vs Ten minutes remain?