Prepositions of time 44

at/on/in:



At, on and in are the basic prepositions of time :

...We use at with particular times:
...I start work at 9 o'clock

...The banks closes at 4 o'clock

.....There's a meeting at 2.30 this afternoon.

....Are you free at lunchtime?

....In theory, women can still have children at the age of 50.

.....The bells ring at regular intervals through the day.

.....At no time/point did the company do anything illegal.

....I'm busy at the moment - can you call back later?

.....It's a shame I wasn't here to meet you - I was in London at the time (= then).


We use on with particular days:

...I don’t work on Mondays

....See you on New Year’s day

....I'm busy tomorrow, but I've got nothing on the day after.


We use in with seasons, months and years:


....I started working here in 2004 [during]

...I am getting married in June

...I went on holiday in the winter

....Temperatures will be in the mid-twenties (= about 25 degrees).

....Nowadays many women are in their late thirties when they have their first child.

....We're going to Italy in April.

...Some trees lose their leaves in (the) autumn.

....I started working here in 1991.

....Life in the 19th century was very different from what it is now.

....Bye, see you in the morning (= tomorrow morning).

...She was a brilliant gymnast in her youth (= when she was young).

....How many civilians died in the Vietnam War?

.....This is the first cigarette I've had in three years.

.....I haven't had a decent night's sleep in years/ages (= for a long time).



There are some special times when we use at:


.....at the weekend

.....at night at Christmas

....at the moment



Notice the difference between on and in in these sentences:


.....I’ll see you on Friday evening – this is a particular evening

....I often use the internet in the evening – this is a general period of time



We don't use at/on/in before phrases like this week, last year, next month, every day


More uses of in

We use in to refer to a future event:
....Hurry up! The TV show starts in ten minutes


We use in to stay how long it takes to finish something:
....I did the exam in one hour

If you arrive in time for an event, then you arrive early enough. You do not miss the start of the event
.....The taxi driver drove quickly to the festival, so we arrived in time to see the first band

If an event happens on time, then it happens at the correct and planned time
......There were no delays, so the plane left on time