Prepositions of time — at, on, in
at for clock times, on for days and dates, in for months, years and parts of the day — plus for, since, ago and during.
Examples use vocabulary from Unit 5 (daily routine). I wake up at 6:30. — which little word do we need before a time?
A — The big three: at, on, in
at = clock times · on = days and dates · in = longer periods (months, years, parts of the day).
| Preposition | Use for | Example from this unit |
|---|---|---|
| at | clock times, night, the weekend, mealtimes | I wake up at 6:30. She finishes work at 6pm. |
| on | days and dates | I work from home on Fridays. We go out on Saturday. |
| in | months, seasons, years, parts of the day | I have a break in the morning. It's busy in December. |
The rest of this lesson is in the General English course:
- Remember
- B — Special cases with at and in
- Correct vs wrong
- C — No preposition!
- D — for, since, ago and during
- Spotlight: for vs since
Try it: at, on or in?
Write the correct preposition. Example: I wake up ___ 6:30. → at
- I have breakfast ___ the morning.
- She finishes work ___ 6pm.
- We go shopping ___ Saturdays.
- I never go out ___ night.
- My birthday is ___ July.
- He commutes to the office ___ the week.
Check your answers in the course — it marks them instantly. This is one of the unit's 5 exercises; the other 4 are in the General English course too.
Practise this unit in the course →