Prepositions of Time - at, in, on
CONFIDENCE ENGLISH ACADEMY
Prepositions of Time - at, in, on
We use:
- at for
a PRECISE TIME
- in for
MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES, and LONG PERIODS
- on for
DAYS and DATES
|
at |
in |
on |
|
at 3 o'clock |
in May |
on Sunday |
|
at 10.30am |
in summer |
on Tuesdays |
|
at noon |
in the summer |
on 6 March |
|
at dinnertime |
in 1990 |
on 25 Dec. 2010 |
|
at bedtime |
in the 1990s |
on Christmas
Day |
|
at sunrise |
in the next
century |
on Independence
Day |
|
at sunset |
in the Ice Age |
on my birthday |
|
at the moment |
in the
past/future |
on New Year's
Eve |
Look at these examples:
- I
have a meeting at 9am.
- The
shop closes at midnight.
- Jane
went home at lunchtime.
- In
England, it often snows in December.
- Do
you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
- There
should be a lot of progress in the next century.
- Do
you work on Mondays?
- My birthday is on 20 November.
- Where
will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in
the following standard expressions:
|
Expression |
Example |
|
at night |
The stars
shine at night. |
|
at the weekend* |
I don't usually
work at the weekend. |
|
at
Christmas*/Easter |
I stay with my
family at Christmas. |
|
at the same
time |
We finished the
test at the same time. |
|
at present |
He's not
home at present. Try later. |
*Note that in some varieties of English people say
"on the weekend" and "on Christmas".
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in
these common expressions:
|
in |
on |
|
in the morning |
on Tuesday
morning |
|
in the mornings |
on Saturday
mornings |
|
in the
afternoon(s) |
on Sunday
afternoon(s) |
|
in the
evening(s) |
on Monday
evening(s) |
When we say last, next, every, this we
do not also use at, in, on.
- I
went to London last June. (not in
last June)
- He's
coming back next Tuesday. (not on
next Tuesday)
- I
go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
- We'll
call me this evening. (not in this evening)
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