in, on or at? Prepositions of time
Prepositions of time: in, on, at, since, for, by, until, during
at a clock time, on a day or a date, in a longer time (a month, a year, the morning).
- The film starts at 8:30.
- We're meeting on Friday.
- Our course finishes in June.
Spanish says «el lunes», «en marzo», «a las tres»; English says on Monday, in March, at three o'clock.
A day wins: on Monday morning, on weekday evenings. Not: in Monday morning. And: at night, at the weekend (on the weekend in American English).
Also on this page: since or for · by or until · during or while · in an hour
Try 6
Six quick questions, easiest first. At the end you'll see which mistake you make.
- Our course finishes ______ June.since · in · at · on
- Tom usually studies ______ weekday evenings.in · on · at · by
- He has worked as a teacher ______ 2015.since · for · from · during
- I have to hand in my essay ______ Thursday evening.in · by · until · at
- Nobody said a word ______ the test.during · since · for · while
- I have lived in this town ______ I was six years old.while · from · for · since
- Mia studied ______ three hours last night.for · since · while · during
- I can't talk now, but I'll call you back ______ an hour.at · since · in · on
- I'm going to stay at the library ______ six o'clock.by · until · since
- Tom managed to go over all his notes ______ twenty minutes.at · by · on · in
- The deadline is on Friday, so I must finish the project ______ then.until · by · in · at
- Ben missed a lot of lessons ______ the term because he was ill for weeks.since · during · while · at
Show the answers
- innot at: in, on or atnot on: in, on or at
- onnot at: in, on or atnot in: in, on or at
- sincenot for: since or fornot from: since or for
- bynot until: by or until
- duringnot for: during, while or fornot while: during, while or for
- sincenot for: since or fornot from: since or for
- fornot since: since or fornot while: during, while or fornot during: during, while or for
- innot at: in, on or atnot on: in, on or at
- untilnot by: by or until
- innot at: in, on or atnot on: in, on or at
- bynot until: by or until
- duringnot while: during, while or for
Common mistakes on this point
Not: See you in Monday morning.
Say: See you on Monday morning.
at a clock time, on a day or a date, in a longer time. in an hour = an hour from now (I'll call you in an hour); in can also mean how long something took (I finished it in twenty minutes).
See this mistake on its own page ›Not: I've lived here for 2015.
Say: I've lived here since 2015.
since + when it started (since 2015, since I was six); for + how long (for ten years).
See this mistake on its own page ›Not: Finish it until Friday.
Say: Finish it by Friday.
by = not later than; until = all the time up to then.
See this mistake on its own page ›Not: I was ill while the holiday.
Say: I was ill during the holiday.
during + a thing (during the lesson); while + a sentence or an -ing word (while I was eating, while eating); for + how long (for two hours).
See this mistake on its own page ›