Can I say 'half of my life' instead of 'half my life'? And how's 'wake up' used here since it doesn't seem to mean to open eyes from the bed in the morning.

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

This is a good question! It may seem more standard to use "of" here, but many people drop the preposition "of" when using the expression "half of my life" (which is used to express that someone has waited a very long time for something). In any case, both "half of my life" and "half my life" are correct. Ex: I've been waiting half my life for this moment. Ex: Half of my life has been spent preparing for this day.

How do native speakers use this expression?

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