PREPOSITIONS OF TIME AND PLACE

 

The Pyramid Scheme (General to Specific)

Preposition	Time Period (General)	Usage	Examples
IN	Longest/Largest Periods	Months, Years, Centuries, Seasons, Decades, general parts of the day.	In July, in 2025, in the 18th century, in winter, in the morning/afternoon/evening (but see exceptions below).
ON	Medium Periods	Specific Days and Dates (anything you can circle on a calendar).	On Monday, on October 31st, on my birthday, on Christmas Day.
AT	Shortest/Most Specific	Exact Clock Times and Specific Points in Time.	At 5:00 PM, at noon, at midnight, at the moment, at night.

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 Key Rules and Exceptions

• AT for Specific Times:

  • Clock times: at 8:30 a.m.

  • Mealtimes: at lunchtime, at dinnertime.

  • Fixed points: at night, at midnight, at the weekend (British English), at Christmas/Easter (referring to the general holiday period).

• ON for Days and Dates:

  • Days of the week: on Tuesday.

  • Specific dates: on June 5th, on the 4th of July.

  • Day + Part of the day: on Sunday morning, on Friday night.

  • Single-day holidays: on Christmas Day, on New Year's Day.

  • Weekend (American English): on the weekend.

• IN for Longer Periods:

  • Parts of the day: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening (BUT at night is the exception).

  • Future periods: in a few minutes, in two weeks.

• No Preposition (Special Cases):

  • Do not use in, on, or at before the words last, next, this, or every when they are used with time expressions.

  • Example: I saw her last week. (NOT in last week). We meet next Tuesday. (NOT on next Tuesday).

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 Other Common Prepositions of Time

Preposition	Meaning	Example
Since	From a starting point up to now.	I have been studying English since 2020.
For	Over a duration of time.	She has been waiting for two hours.
During	Throughout a period of time.	I fell asleep during the movie.
By	Not later than (a deadline).	Please submit the report by Friday.
Until/Till	Up to a point in time.	I will stay until midnight.