来不及 / 来得及 (láibují / láidejí) – not have time to / still have time to

Pattern

• Subject + 来不及 + Verb phrase
• (还) + 来得及 + Verb phrase

Usage

• A fixed pair of potential complements about time: 来不及 – too little time to do something; 来得及 – still enough time.
• Both are usually followed by a verb phrase.

Examples

1. 1

   事情发生得太突然，我来不及提前通知你。

   Shìqing fāshēng de tài tūrán, wǒ láibují tíqián tōngzhī nǐ.

   It all happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to tell you in advance.

2. 2

   离开车还有一个多小时，我们完全来得及吃午饭。

   Lí kāichē hái yǒu yí gè duō xiǎoshí, wǒmen wánquán láidejí chī wǔfàn.

   There's more than an hour before departure, so we've got plenty of time for lunch.