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Prepositions of time

To talk about times of the day, the most common prepositions are in, on and at. 

‘At’ is for exact times, like:

Clock times

• I'll see you at 7pm.

 Exact times of the day (e.g. sunset, sunrise, dawn, dusk, bedtime, dinnertime, midnight)

• The birds sing at sunrise.

Exception: night (this is more of a duration than one exact time)

• The bats come out at night. 

‘In’ is for longer periods, like: 

Months 

• My birthday is in November.

 Years  

• I graduated in 2017. 

 Seasons  

• It usually snows here in winter.

 Centuries 

• My parents were born in the 60s. 

‘In’ is also for sections of the day (exclude night), like:

The morning

• It's too early in the morning for talking.

 The afternoon

• We can go shopping tomorrow in the afternoon. 

 The evening 

• Mum's coming to visit in the evening. 

‘On’ is for shorter periods, like:

Days

• The meeting is on Tuesday. 

Dates

• The concert is on the 8th of September.

Holidays 

• We'll see each other on Christmas Eve. 

TOP TIPS!

Remember:

• in the morning (more than one syllable - use in!)
• at noon (one syllable - use at!)
• in the afternoon (more than one syllable - use in!)
• in the evening (more than one syllable - use in!)
• at night (one syllable - use at!)

 Memorise this sentence so you always remember the difference:

• My bus left at midnight on a Tuesday in June.

To do

Practise by using the worksheet.

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