Prepositions of Time
Learn Prepositions of Time in English and use in, on, and at correctly for days, dates, months, and clock times.
English uses prepositions of time before many time expressions. The main prepositions are in, on, and at. They show if the time is general, more specific, or very exact.
Use in for months, years, seasons, and parts of the day. In shows a general time around a period, not one exact point.
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Use on for days and dates. On shows a more specific time than in.
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Use at for clock times and specific moments. At shows one exact time point.
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Use in for long time periods, on for days and dates, and at for exact times. This is the basic order from general to exact.
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| in | |
| on | |
| at |
Some holidays use different prepositions. Use on with a holiday when you mean the holiday day. Use at with holiday periods such as at Christmas or at Easter. Use in with holiday months or years.
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You can now choose in, on, and at for many time expressions. You can talk about months, years, seasons, parts of the day, days, dates, clock times, holidays, and fixed moments. You can say time in a clear and correct way.