Level: elementary
We use phrases with prepositions as time adverbials:
- We use at with:
| clock times: | at seven o'clock | at nine thirty | at fifteen hundred hours | |
| mealtimes: | at breakfast | at lunchtime | at teatime | |
| these phrases: | at night | at the weekend | at Christmas | at Easter |
- We use in with:
| seasons of the year: | in (the) spring/summer/autumn/winter | ||||
| years, centuries, decades: | in 2009 | in 1998 | in the 20th century | in the 60s | in the 1980s |
| months: | in January/February/March etc. | ||||
| parts of the day: | in the morning | in the afternoon | in the evening |
- We use on with:
| days: | on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday etc. | on Christmas day | on my birthday | |
| dates: | on the thirty-first of July | on June the fifteenth |
| Be careful! |
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We say at night when we are talking about all of the night:
but we say in the night when we are talking about a specific time during the night:
|
We often use a noun phrase as a time adverbial:
| yesterday | today | tomorrow |
| last week/month/year | this week/month/year | next week/month/year |
| last Saturday | this Tuesday | next Friday |
| the day before yesterday | the day after tomorrow | |
| one day/week/month | ||
| the other day/week/month |
We can put time phrases together:
We will meet next week at six o'clock on Monday.
I heard a funny noise at about eleven o'clock last night.
It happened last week at seven o'clock on Monday night.
We use ago with the past simple to say how long before the time of speaking something happened:
I saw Jim about three weeks ago.
We arrived a few minutes ago.
We use in with a future form to say how long after the time of speaking something will happen:
I'll see you in a month.
Our train's leaving in five minutes.
- When (time and dates)
Comments
Why is it:
In the evenings I never take work home with me. (evenings is plural)
vs:
I'm usually at work by 8 in the morning. (morning is singular)
What's the difference and rule for the singular vs plural time indicator? Or are both singular and plural correct in both sentences?
I can't seem to find and answer to the question after extensive research.
Hello DebbieV
When we make a day of the week plural after the preposition 'on', it refers to repeated events. For example, 'I go to the market on Fridays' means I go there every Friday, whereas 'I'm going to the market on Friday' refers to my plan for one specific Friday. Actually, quite often, people leave out the preposition 'on' and just say the plural day of the week ('I go to the market Fridays').
I'm not sure I'd say 'evenings' (which is not a day of the week) in the first sentence you ask about, but it doesn't sound wrong to me and I'd understand it to mean 'every evening' -- though of course the adverb 'always' also makes this clear.
In the second case you ask about, 'in the morning' is another way of saying 'a.m.' -- in this case, 'morning' (or any other time of day) isn't used in the plural in any situation that I can think of.
Does that help you make sense of it?
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Kirk,
Yes it does! Thanks for the speedy reply
Hello,
are these sentences correct:
On the next day I went to see my friend.
At the next day I went to see my friend.
The next day I went to see my freind.
Thank you, Anna
Hello Anna
The last one is the best choice -- normally, a preposition isn't used before 'the next day'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
"the end of the month"- could mean the week of the 23-31st.
"the last week of the month"
So what preposition should i use?
Hello Dean,
The correct preposition is 'at':
> I'll be back at the end of the month.
~
The term is not precisely defined and so the precise meaning depends on the context in which it is used.
~
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Is our meeting on schedule? On time?
I'm sometimes confused with these expressions. The other day, 'on the schedule?' slipped out of my mouth. How strange does it sound? Can anybody tell me?
Hello Smiley1,
The correct terms are, as you say, on schedule and on time.
If you say on the schedule then it is a mistake, but not one which would stop people understanding you.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Glad to hear from you Peter, thank you!
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