[[quoteright:322:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ThreeCats_2104.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:322:Cats also don't know.]]

->''"What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know."''
-->-- '''Creator/AugustineOfHippo'''

Time passes. Often, this is significant to characters and plots alike.
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[[index]]
!!Tropes:
[floatboxright:
'''Categories:'''
+ TwentyFourHourTropeClock
+ AgingTropes
+ BirthdayTropes
+ ClockIndex
+ FateAndProphecyTropes
+ FlashbacksAndChronology
+ HolidayTropes
+ HollywoodHistory
+ InstantTropes
+ LengthTropes
+ PlotTime
+ SeasonalIndex
+ SynchronizedIndex
+ TimeMarchesOn
+ TimeTravelTropes
+ WeWillNotUseAnIndexInTheFuture
]
* TenThousandYears
* AbUrbeCondita
* AbsurdlyLongWait
* AdvanceNoticeCrime: A criminal announces what they plan to do before committing a crime.
* AgeProgressionSong
* AllOfTimeAtOnce
* AlternativeCalendar: A calendar where the names of the months are different.
* AlwaysLate
* AmbiguousTimePeriod: It is not clear what time period the story takes place.
* AnachronisticClue
* BaitAndSwitchTimeSkip: It ''seems'' like a long time has passed, but it's only been a little while.
* BelatedInjuryRealization
* BizarreSeasons
* BulletTime: A visual effect in which time is slowed down to show something really fast happening.
* CartoonlandTime
* CatastrophicCountdown
* TheCavalryArrivesLate: The heroes' reinforcements don't show up until after the villains have already been defeated.
* CelestialDeadline
* CharityWorkplaceCalendar: Posing for a workplace calendar to raise money.
* {{Chronoscope}}
* ClockDiscrepancy: The time of an event doesn't happen at the time it was said.
* ClockKing
* ClocksOfControl
* ClockOfPower
* ClockTampering
* ClockworkPrediction
* ColourCodedTimestop
* CueOClock: Clock dial numbers are replaced by a non-time-related cue or nonsense.
* DistantFinale: The series' ending takes place many years in the future with the surviving characters much older.
* EventDrivenClock: Time doesn't progress until the player progresses.
* ExactlyExtyYearsAgo
* ExplodingCalendar
* ExtremelyShortTimespan
* ExtyYearsFromPublication
* FantasticTimeManagement
* FastForwardToReunion
* FatherTime: AnthropomorphicPersonification of time.
* FlashbackBPlot
* FlashForwardFic
* FloatingClocks
* FreshClue
* FunnyFlashbackHaircut
* GoWaitOutside: Despite a NonPlayerCharacter saying a commission will take a while, no out-of-universe time is needed to go retrieve it.
* HatingOnMonday
* TheHiddenHour
* ImplausibleSynchrony: All clocks show the exact same time of day.
* InItForLife
* JustInTime
* LateToTheAction
* LiminalTime
* LimitedDestinationTime: Each place has a time limit for how long you can stay.
* LineageLadder: When describing a repetition of ancestors or descendants conveys age or time passage.
* MagicCountdown
* MeaningfulReleaseDate: A work is released on a date that has some connection to the work itself.
* {{Microts}}: Fictional units of time.
* MoveInTheFrozenTime
* OverlyGenerousTimeLimit: A TimedMission where the amount of time given is much longer than the average player is expected to need.
* PatiencePlot: A plot where characters wait for something to happen.
* ThePresentDay: The current period of time you're living in right now.
* ProgressiveEraMontage
* RaceAgainstTheClock
* RealTime
* RightOnTheTick: The association of important plot events with a specific time.
* ARottenTimeToRevert: A transformed character is forced to revert to their natural form at the worst possible time.
* ScheduleFanatic: A character is obsessed with scheduling everything.
* ScottyTime
* SeasonalBaggage
* SnailMail
* SpinningClockHands
* SpinningPaper: Newspapers rotate into view with headlines relevant to the events of the story.
* SpringIsLate
* StandardTimeUnits
* StoppedClock
* SundayIsBoring
* TardinessTropes: tropes about being late
* TakeYourTime
* ThousandYearReign
* TimeAbyss: A being who is much older than all recorded history.
* TimeBomb
* TimeCapsule
* TimeCompressionMontage
* TimeCrash
* TimeDilation
* TimedMission: A goal must be reached ''[[{{Speedrun}} quickly]]''!
* TimePassesMontage
* TimeFreezeTrollingSpree: Someone freezes time or takes advantage of time being frozen so they can play pranks on people without the risk of getting caught.
* TimeIsDangerous
* TimeMaster: Someone who has the power to [[TimeTravel manipulate time]] at will.
* TimeSkip: A sequel or continuation that takes place a specific amount of time after the original.
* TimeStandsStill: Someone or something causes time to freeze and everyone around them to become motionless.
* TimeZonesDoNotExist: When a world logically should have different time zones, yet none are shown or mentioned.
* UniversalUniverseTime
* UnnecessaryTimePrecision: Doing complicated time calculations just to say that the date requested is very recent.
* WeWait: Characters must wait for their enemy to fall into a trap.
* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve
* WhenThePlanetsAlign
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The story ends by explaining what happened to the characters after the story's events.
* AYearAndADay
* YearInsideHourOutside: A long time in an alternate reality is only a short time in the regular universe.
* YearOutsideHourInside: A short time in an alternate reality is much, much longer in the regular universe.
* YearX
* YouAreTooLate
[[/index]]
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