There is a sentence:
The study has also found that being sad for ten percent of the time is actually good for you. Let's face it. We can't be happy all the time.
I don't understand the meaning of "for ten percent of the time".
I wonder if it refers to once out of ten times. That is, it's good to be sad once in a while.
I'm not sure if my understanding is correct or not. Could you explain this, please?
This sentence is from BBC Learning English.
Best Answer
Ten percent of the time does not mean ten percent of the times.
If you read it as once out of ten times, then what are those "times"?
What the sentence says is that it's all right to be sad for ten percent of all the time you spend during a day, or your life, or whatever.
So that could be:
Well, actually, it is unlikely that a precise 10% is meant - ten percent of the time basically means that it is all right to be sad every now and again, as long as it doesn't become too much; 50% would mean you are sad half the time, or 100% that you are always sad, and that probably is not good for you.
So yes, your interpretation of the meaning was correct.