prepositions of time
03/07/2020
Using the prepositions of time ON / IN / AT
IN
We use IN for centuries, decades, years, seasons, and months:
Peru was colonized in the 16th century.
My grandfather was born in the twenties.
He earned his degree in the year 1998.
What time does it get dark in the summer.
My parents got married in December.
We also use IN with morning, afternoon and evening.
She takes a shower in the morning.
They take a nap in the afternoon.
What time do you get home in the evening?
ON
We use ON for specific days and dates:
They’re arriving on Wednesday.
They got married on Friday the 13th.
I get paid on the 30th of every month.
We ate too much on Christmas Eve.
We also use ON in the following expressions:
on Monday mornings
on Sunday night
In American English ON is used with weekend:
I don’t work on the weekend.
AT
We use AT with specific times:
I woke up at 8 o’clock.
What are you doing at lunchtime?
They left the party at midnight.
We use AT with night:
It’s eleven o’clock at night in Barcelona.
We also use AT for holiday periods:
It’s nice to be with family at Christmas.
In British English AT is used with weekend:
What did you do at the weekend?
Be Careful!