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Once

Once means ‘on one occasion’.

  • I only went once.

Once can also mean ‘at some time in the past’.

  • Once (upon a time) there was a princess.

Note that to refer to an indefinite time in the future, we use sometime or one day, not once.

  • Come up and see me sometime. (NOT … see me once.)
As a conjunction

Once can be used as a conjunction meaning ‘after’, ‘as soon as’. It is most often used with a perfect tense.

  • I would like to go for a walk once the rain has stopped.
  • Once he had found somewhere to live he started looking for work.

 

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