Prepositions of Time
1. Use of ‘in
We use in with:
| Months | in September
in May |
| Years | in 1996, in 1976
in 2004, in 2054 |
| Seasons | in summer, in winter
in spring, in autumn |
| Centuries | in the 17th century
in the 21st century in the Bronze Age |
| Main parts of the day | in the morning
in the afternoon in the evening |
2. Use of ‘on
We use on with:
| Days (especially with the word ‘day’) | on Monday, on Friday
on weekdays on Thursday morning on a good day on Christmas Day, |
| Dates | on 16th September
on 30th October on the fourth of May |
3. Use of ‘at’
We use at with:
| Times | at 9am
at half past eleven at 3 o’clock |
| A point of time | at the start
at the beginning/end at midnight at noon, at night at lunch time |
| Special days (without the word ‘day’) | at Christmas
at Easter at the weekend |
| Expressions | at first, at last, at once, ect. |
4. In, during, while
In and during often mean the same:
in summer = during summer
in the night = during the night
During emphasizes the duration:
It rained every day during the holidays.
Both while and during refer to duration but compare:
| During + noun
during the film during the break |
While + subject + verb + object
while we were watching the film while I was having a break |
5. Use of ‘by
By means ‘no later than’.
Applications to be received by Friday the 20th June. (= on or before Friday, not later than Friday the 20th June.)
by the end of the year / by 2pm on Tuesday / by Sunday morning / by now / by the time you arrive home
6. Use of ‘until
Until (or till) refers to the duration of an activity and show how long something will continue. It means that something continues until a moment in the future.
I will be in a meeting until four o’clock this afternoon. (=the meeting will continue until four, it will stop at four o’clock)
until everyone arrives
until we get home
until the morning
7. Use of ‘for, in’
In shows how quickly something happens (how long it takes to do something).
Dad will come home in four days.
The train journey finished in an hour.
For shows the duration of an action (how long in lasts):
We stayed in Birmingham for 2 days.
He went to Tibet for August.
8. Expressions
on time = punctual, exact time
in time = ok time, not late but almost late
in the end = finally
at the end (of something) = when something finishes
| at | In | on |
| at midnight
at noon at lunch time at dusk/dawn at the same time at present at the time at last at the end at night |
in the morning
in the afternoon in the evening in half an hour in a few minutes in a moment in a second in time in the present in the past |
on Wednesday afternoon
on Sunday evening on a fine day on my birthday on the day of the wedding on the day of something on time On New Year’s Day on his anniversary |
Ready to test your knowledge?
Put the grammar rules above into practice with the challenge below.
