Prepositions of Time

Do you know how and when to use at, in and on to talk about time? We use the prepositions in, on or at to say when something happens.

at

We usually use at with clock times, mealtimes, festival, a precise time, weekend.

at + clock times	at 7 o'clock at 11:45 a.m. at half past twelve at seven thirty
at + mealtimes	at lunch time at dinner time
at + festival	at Easter at Chinese New Year at Mid-Autumn Festival at Christmas ⚠ on Christmas Day
at + a precise time	at night at sunrise at midnight at midday at noon at bedtime at sunrise at sunset at the moment at the same time at present
at + weekend	UK at the weekend US on the weekend

in

, decades

in + month	in August in December
in + season	in spring in summer in autumn in winter
in + parts of the day	in the morning in the afternoon in the evening ⚠ at night
in + year	in 2024 in 1943
in + century	in the nineteenth century in the 18th century
in + a long peroid	in the Ice Age in the past in the future
in + decades	in the 90s

on

on + day of the week	on Monday on Friday
on + date	on 5th March on 1st October 2022 on 20 November
on + day	on Sports Day on Christmas Day on my birthday on New Year's Eve on a sunny day on weekday except ⚠ today

from, to

from 1st July to 10th July , from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

from, to	from 1st July to 10th July from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Don't use a preposition with the following time phrases.

Don't use a preposition with every day, every night, every morning, every afternoon, every year ... today

Don't use a preposition with today.

Don't use a preposition	every day every night every morning every afternoon every year every ...
Don't use a preposition	today

In the afternoon, I do activities. On weekdays, I work until 12. At 5 o'clock, I do two or three more hours of work. 1. He saw a film with my sister at/on the weekend. 2. In the last few months, it hasn't rained much. 5. We prefer to exercise in the evening. 7. My favourite time to work in the garden is in spring. 8. We all try to eat together at the table at dinner time. Ella watches cartoons on TV __________ 5:15 p.m. Let's have lunch __________ twelve thirty. in + month Tina's birthday is __________ September. on + date The school picnic is __________ the thirteenth of September. on + day of the week I am free __________ Firday. at + festival People eat moon cakes __________ Mid-Autumn Festival. Don't use a preposition with every afternoon / every day in + part of the day I like jogging __________ the morning. We are going to meet at four thirty __________ the evening. We have lunch __________ noon. My parents want to watch dragon boat races __________ this afternoon. on + day We run in races __________ Sports Day. from (date) to (date) The Exam Week is __________ 1st July __________ 10th July. Eva works __________ 9:00 a.m. __________ 6:00 p.m. every weekday. in + a long period __________ the future Don't use a preposition with today There is a party at school __________ today. on Saturday morning on the coming Saturday morning in the 2020s