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TIME PREPOSITION EXPLANATIONS AND EXERCISES. There are two types of time prepositions in English. BASIC TIME PREPOSITIONS. The prepositions at , in and on are associated with specific time categories, which must be memorized.
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BASIC TIME PREPOSITIONS The prepositions at, in and on are associated with specific time categories, which must be memorized. For example, we say "at 5 PM on Sunday in June" because English speakers use at with clock times, on with days, and in with months. Study the categories and the examples below.
To help you understand the time categories listed above, here are a few real-life examples of at, in and on to get you started.
ON CHRISTMAS VS. AT CHRISTMAS Both on and at are used with holidays, but the meaning is different. On is used with specific days and at is used with holiday periods. For this reason, on Christmas means on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) whereas at Christmas means during the Christmas season (late December). There is a similar distinction with longer holidays, including Easter, Hanukkah, the New Year, Thanksgivingweekend, Chinese New Year etc. EXAMPLES • On Christmas, we always eat dinner at my grandparents' house. Christmas day • I love all the decorations at Christmas. Christmastime
No Prepositions with Tomorrow, Yesterday, Next, and Last Do not use on with the words tomorrow or yesterday. Similarly, do not use at, in or on with any of the expressions listed above when they follow the words next or last. EXAMPLES • I went to the movies on yesterday. NOT CORRECT • I went to the movies yesterday.CORRECT • I went to the movies on last Tuesday. NOT CORRECT • I went to the movies last Tuesday.CORRECT • I graduated from college in last August. NOT CORRECT • I graduated from college last August. CORRECT
TO VS. UNTIL VS. TILL Both to and until express similar ideas, but there is a difference in usage between the two words. To is a preposition, and it must be followed by a noun, most frequently a clock time such as 3:45 PM. Until is both a preposition and an adverb, which means it is more flexible. Until can be followed by any time noun or even an entire clause. If you are confused, you can use until and that will always be right. Till is a short, less formal version of until. Till (also written as 'til) is more common in spoken English, songs, and poetry. EXAMPLES • Jane stayed from 3:30 to 5:30. • Jane stayed from 3:30 until 5:30. • Jane stayed until the end. • Jane stayed till the end. • Jane stayed until every person in the room had left. • Jane stayed till every person in the room had left.
Complete the sentences below by choosing the correct prepositions. Sometimes, more than one answer is possible. 1. Jane is arriving ………. January 26 ………. 2 o'clock ………. the afternoon. 2. It snows here every year ………. December. We always go outside and play in the snow ……….. Christmas Day. 3. Michael is arriving ………. today ……….. noon. 4. Frankie started working for her law firm ………. 1995. I think she started ……. June. 5. Franklin began working on the project ……….. last week. 6. Normally, …… New Year's Eve, it's tradition to kiss the one you love ……. midnight. 7 Don't be ridiculous; there were no telephones ………. the seventeenth century! The telephone was invented ……….. the 1870s. 8. The plane leaves ……….. tomorrow morning ………. 8:00 AM. 9. The hills here are covered with wildflowers ……….. early spring. 10. The conference begins ……. Friday ……. 2 PM, and it will end ……… next Monday.
Complete the sentences below by choosing the correct prepositions. Sometimes, more than one answer is possible. 1. I haven't had a vacation ……… two years. Hopefully, I will be able to take one …….. next summer at the latest. 2. We were on the boat ……….. three days in very rough seas. I think everybody was seasick ………. the time the cruise was over. 3. A lot of people say you shouldn't eat ………. swimming, but I don't know if that is true. 4. Nobody made a sound ………. the speech. It was so good that there was total silence ……….. the moment he started speaking ……….. the last word came out of his mouth. 5. I ordered a new smart phone online. The site said my phone would arrive ……….. 3 to 5 days, but I had to wait ……….. almost a month. 6. I have class ………. 9 AM ……….. 1:30 PM on Wednesdays. I always eat breakfast ………. class and lunch ……….. class, but my lunches are a bit late because I can't eat ……….. I get home around 2 PM. 7. Just wait a second, I'll be there ………… a minute. 8. Somebody's phone started ringing ……….. the movie. It kept ringing ……….. two or three minutes, and all the people in the theater were looking around trying to figure out whose phone it was. I was furious ………. I realized it was my phone. 9. I've been sitting here ……….. more than an hour. If they don't arrive ……….. the next ten minutes, I'm going to leave. 10. Every Friday, I meet up with friends ……….. work for drinks and dinner. We usually hang out together …………… 6 PM ………… midnight. I'm usually back home …………… 1 AM.
