Prepositions of time

 

Prepositions of time tell us when something happens, and for how long. They are usually used with clock times, mealtimes, parts of the day, months, years, and other durations:

• I’ll see you at 8 o’clock.
• My brother gets up late on Sundays.
• Shakespeare died in 1616.

1. To talk about days and dates, use ‘on’:

• Shall we go shopping on Sunday afternoon?
• I usually go out on Saturday.
• The festival will take place on the 15th of August.

2. To talk about a point in time (clock time or mealtime), use ‘at’:

• My alarm clock buzzed at 8.00am.
• David and Stephanie will see us tomorrow morning at breakfast.
• My favourite TV program starts at six thirty.

 

Note: ‘at’ is also used in the following expressions: at night, at the weekend, at the moment, at Christmas, at Easter.

3. To talk about parts of the day, months, seasons and years (meaning ‘during’ them), use ‘in’:

• Yesterday Peter woke up early in the morning.
• I graduated from the University in 2003.
• Have you been to Los Angeles in autumn?

‘In’ can also mean after some time:

• I’ll call you back in an hour.
• Jeremy hopes to finish his new painting in a week.

4. Prepositions ‘past’ and ‘to’ are usually used to tell the time:

• It’s half past four (4:30.)
• It’s twenty to nine (8:40.)

5. To say when an action starts and when it finishes, use prepositions ‘from…until…’ and ‘between…and…’:

• The shop is normally open from 8am until 6pm.
• The train is late, it’s supposed to arrive between 4pm and 6pm

6. To say when the ongoing action finishes, use ‘until’:

• Michael has to stay at work until six o’clock.
• We will live together until next year.

7. To say when an ongoing action started, use ‘since’:

• I’ve been studying German since last year.
• Kate’s been playing with her daughter since 11am.

8. To say how long the action has been happening, use ‘for’:

• John has been practicing yoga for 10 years
• I’ve been working for 9 hours already.

9. To say something happened in a period of time, use ‘during’:

• I met Jane during the summer.
• She stayed at a hostel during her trip.

10. Prepositions ‘before’ and ‘after’ are used to show  a sequence of actions:

• I will finish my work before 5 o’clock (earlier).
• I will do the dishes after dinner (later).