At, In, On – Prepositions of Time
Table of Contents
At, In, On – Prepositions of Time - Exercises
We use prepositions of time to say when something happens.
The most common prepositions are: at / on / in
Explanation
At – Exact Time
1. Use at for specific times.
Examples:
-
The meeting starts at 9 a.m.
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I usually wake up at 6:30.
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They arrived at midnight.
2. We also use at in some common expressions:
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at night – I like reading at night.
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at the weekend – We relax at the weekend.
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at Christmas – We visit our grandparents at Christmas.
On – Days and Dates
Use on for days and dates.
Examples:
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I have a test on Monday.
-
She was born on July 10th.
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We are meeting on Friday evening.
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They play football on Saturdays.
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The shop closed on my birthday.
In – Months, Years, and Long Periods
1. Use in for longer periods of time.
Examples:
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My sister was born in 2010.
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We go skiing in winter.
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He moved here in March.
2. We also use in for parts of the day:
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in the morning – I study in the morning.
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in the afternoon – She works in the afternoon.
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in the evening – We watch movies in the evening.
No Preposition
Sometimes we do not use a preposition with time expressions.
Examples:
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I saw him yesterday.
-
We will leave tomorrow.
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She called me last night.
-
I exercise every day.
Quick Summary
|
Preposition |
Use |
Example |
|
at |
exact time |
at 7 p.m. |
|
on |
days and dates |
on Tuesday |
|
in |
months, years, long periods |
in July |
Examples:
-
The train leaves at 8:00.
-
I have a meeting on Wednesday.
-
We travel a lot in summer.
