Prepositions of Time: AT – IN – ON

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“Prepositions of time such as “at”, “in” and “on” are words used to indicate when an event or action takes place. This article will explore the usage of these prepositions and provide examples to help better understand when to use them correctly in sentence construction.

Prepositions of Time

Generally, in shows the “largest” time, on shows dates and time, and at usually shows the “smallest” time.

English speakers use in to refer to a general, longer period of time, such as months, years, decades, or centuries. For example, we say “in April,” “in 2017” or “in the 21st century.”

Moving to shorter, more specific periods of time, we use on to talk about particular days, dates, and holidays . You may hear, “I went to work on Monday,” or “Let’s have a picnic on Memorial Day.”

For the most specific times, and for holidays without the word “day,” we use at. That means you will hear, “Meet me at midnight,” or “The flowers are in bloom at Easter time.”

List of Prepositions of Time

Prepositions of Time with In

Here are some examples of prepositions of time that include “in”:

• in the morning
• in the afternoon
• in the evening
• in the summer
• in the fall
• in the winter
• in the spring
• in the decade
• in the century
• in the past
• in the future
• in (a specific) month (e.g. in August, in February)
• in (a specific) year (e.g. in 2022, in 1999)
• in (a specific) time period (e.g. in the last hour, in the next week)
• in (a specific) part of the day (e.g. in the morning, in the night)
• in a while
• in the mean time
• in the middle of something
• in the course of something
• in the duration of something

Prepositions of Time with On

Here are some examples of prepositions of time that include “on”:

• on Monday
• on Tuesday
• on Wednesday
• on Thursday
• on Friday
• on Saturday
• on Sunday
• on (specific date) (e.g. on June 1st, on January 14th)
• on (specific holiday) (e.g. on Christmas, on New Year’s Eve)
• on (specific occasion) (e.g. on her birthday, on the day of the exam)
• on (a specific) day of the week (e.g. on Fridays, on Mondays)
• on (a specific) day of the month (e.g. on the 15th, on the 30th)
• on (a specific) day of the year (e.g. on Valentine’s Day, on Halloween)
• on (a specific) time of the day (e.g. on the morning, on the night)

Prepositions of Time with At

Here are some examples of prepositions of time that include “at”:

• at night
• at dawn
• at sunrise
• at sunset
• at noon
• at midnight
• at (specific time) (e.g. at 3:00 PM, at 6:30 AM)
• at (a specific) clock time (e.g. at half past two, at quarter to six)
• at (a specific) point in time (e.g. at the beginning, at the end)
• at (a specific) part of the day (e.g. at bedtime, at mealtime)
• at (a specific) moment in time (e.g. at the moment, at this time)
• at the same time

Let’s look at the usage for in, at, on.

How to Use Prepositions of Time IN/ ON /AT | Images

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