made it to the meeting on time vs made it on time for the meeting

[Tony_M]

Hello,

I had an important meeting yesterday. Unfortunately, I missed it. If my car hadn't broken down, I would've made it to the meeting on time or made it on time for the meeting.

Do they both work in this contex?

Thank you

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd use either "I would've made it to the meeting on time" or "I would've been on time for the meeting".

 

[Tony_M]

I'd use either "I would've made it to the meeting on time" or "I would've been on time for the meeting".

What about "I would've made it on time for the meeting"?

 

[Skrej]

It's not wrong.

 

[Tony_M]

It's not wrong.

But less natural?

 

[jutfrank]

What about "I would've made it on time for the meeting"?

You seem to be confusing 'make it to somewhere' with 'be on time for something'.

To express a place to be reached, the verb 'make it' must be followed by a to-phrase:

I made it to the meeting.
They made it to the border.
Will we make it to heaven?

 

[Tony_M]

You seem to be confusing 'make it to somwehere' with 'be on time for something'.

To express a place to be reached, the verb 'make it' must be followed by a to-phrase:

I made it to the meeting.
They made it to the border.
Will we make it to heaven?

I don't know whether I'm confusing anything, but if I am, these people too.

- But I have to hurry if I want to make it on time to the reservation Delalieu helped me arrange for tonight. (Corpus of Contemporary American English, Happy Anniversary, Fan Fic)
- I was trying to get home so i could make it on time for the christmas party. (Corpus of Contemporary American English, Feminist Studies, Kuypers Janet)
- So with passport in hand, we got on a flight to Paris, and I made it in time for my afternoon meeting. (The New York Time, Small Child, but a Big Passport Headache)

 

[5jj]

To express a place to be reached, the verb 'make it' must be followed by a to-phrase:

I made it to the meeting.

We made it on/in time seems fine to me.

 

[Tony_M]

We made it on/in time seems fine to me.

thank you, @5jj

Would these be correct?

-make on/in time for the meeting
-make on/in time to the meeting

 

[5jj]

I might well say them.

 

[Tony_M]

I might well say them.

Thank you much, @5jj.

 

[jutfrank]

Would these be correct?

-make it on/in time for the meeting
-make it on/in time to the meeting

(I've added the missing the word 'it's.)

Here's the difference:

make it to + a place

This is used when the idea is successfully reaching a destination, as seems to be the intended meaning of your original sentence.

on time for + an event

This is used when the idea is punctuality in relation to an event.

Putting this into context:

We made it to the meeting on time. = We reached the place where the meeting was being held. Furthermore, we were not late.

We made it on time for the meeting. = We were not late for the meeting.

 

[Tony_M]

(I've added the missing the word 'it's.)

Here's the difference:

make it to + a place

This is used when the idea is successfully reaching a destination, as seems to be the intended meaning of your original sentence.

on time for + an event

This is used when the idea is punctuality in relation to an event.

Putting this into context:

We made it to the meeting on time. = We reached the place where the meeting was being held. Furthermore, we were not late.

We made it on time for the meeting. = We were not late for the meeting.

And? Don't they both work in the contex?

 

[Skrej]

Yes. The second one (made it on time to the meeting) just highlights the 'on time' aspect more.

The first one (made it to the meeting on time) perhaps de-emphasizes the 'on time' aspect marginally, or at least doesn't make the time element the main focus.

 

[jutfrank]

And? Don't they both work in the contex?

As I say, they have different meanings. The bit about the car breaking down suggests to me that you mean to the meeting, not for the meeting. In other words, the meeting is a successfully reached destination point. Is that what you mean or not?

 

[Tony_M]

As I say, they have different meanings. The bit about the car breaking down suggests to me that you mean to the meeting, not for the meeting. In other words, the meeting is a successfully reached destination point. Is that what you mean or not?

The destination point was reached, but not on time.

 

[jutfrank]

The destination point was reached, but not on time.

Okay, so say this:

If my car hadn't broken down, I would've made it to the meeting on time.

 

[Tony_M]

Okay, so say this:

If my car hadn't broken down, I would've made it to the meeting on time.

Why can't it be?
If my car hadn't broken down, I would've made it on time for the meeting.

 

[jutfrank]

Why can't it be?
If my car hadn't broken down, I would've made it on time for the meeting.

It can be that, as long as that's what you mean. In this sentence, the meeting is an event, not a place.

However, if you do mean that, you could also use the verb 'been' instead of 'made it'. In fact, like emsr2d2 (see post#2), I'd find that preferable, since it's most natural to use 'be on time for something'. You can't use 'be' if the idea is that the meeting is a place:

I would've been on time for the meeting
I would've been on time to the meeting

The normal phrase to express punctuality is 'be on time', where 'on time' is the complement of the the verb 'be'. If you substitute 'be' for 'make it', you still ought to keep the verb and complement unseparated, i.e., keep 'on time' directly following 'made it'. So the word order depends on the meaning.

I would've been for the meeting on time
I would've made it for the meeting on time

Also note that although 'be on time for something' can be expressed antonymously with 'be late for something', you can't say 'make it late for something' because of the sense of success that is carried by 'make it'.

Is that clear? It's pretty confusing, since there are a few complicating factors going on here at the same time.

 

[Tarheel]

Why can't it be?
If my car hadn't broken down, I would've made it on time for the meeting.

I might say:

If my car hadn't broken down I would have made it to the meeting on time.