Sunday 11 December 2011

English Grammar Rules - AT - ON - IN - Prepositions of Time

AT

We use AT with specific times (hour / minutes).
  • I get up at 7 o'clock.
  • My English classes starts at 10am.
  • She finishes work at 6.15
  • I left the party at midnight.
Midnight (and midday) is a specific hour which is why we use AT.
12am = midnight --- 12pm = midday / noon

ON

We use ON for specific days and dates.
  • I will return it to you on Wednesday.
  • They got married on Friday the 13th.
  • We get paid on the 20th of every month.
  • I drank too much on New Year's eve.
Remember that for dates, we use ordinal numbers.
E.g. the First of September (not the one of September)

IN

We use IN for specific months, years and seasons.
  • My birthday is in January. (I don't mention the date, just the month)
  • My grandmother was born in 1927.
  • The river near my house is dry in Summer.
Compare:
The New Zealand National day is in February. (I don't mention the day - only the month)
The New Zealand National day is on February 6th. (I mention the day - the order is not important)

Summary

AT
Specific timesI start work at 9 o'clock.
Festivals in generalI'm going to Brazil at Christmas.
NightI find it difficult to sleep at night.
ON
Specific daysI'd like to go to the cinema on Saturday.
IN
Parts of the dayI go to the gym in the morning.
MonthsI normally go on holiday in February.
SeasonsWe can go skiing in winter.
YearsI was born in 1972.
A time periodThe train leaves in 5 minutes.
Remember! We do not use at, on, in or the with the following expressions:
Today, tomorrow, yesterday, this morning, tonight, last, next, every.

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