At/on/in |
| A |
Compare at, on and in:
- They arrived at 5 o'clock.
- They arrived on Friday.
- They arrived in October. / They arrived in 1998.
We use:
at for the time of day
at five o'clock at 11.45 at midnight at lunchtime at sunset etc.
on for days and dates
on Friday / on Fridays on 16 May 2009 on Christmas Day on my birthday
in for longer periods (for example: months/years/seasons)
in October in 1998 in the 18th century in the past in (the) winter
in the 1990s in the Middle Ages in (the) future
|
| B |
We use at in these expressions:
| at night |
I don't like working at night. |
| at the weekend / at weekends |
Will you be here at the weekend? |
| at Christmas |
Do you give each other presents at Christmas? |
| at the moment / at present |
The manager isn't here at the moment / at present. |
| at the same time |
Kate and I arrived at the same time. |
|
| C |
We say:
in the morning(s) but on Friday morning(s)
in the afternoon(s) but on Sunday afternoon(s)
in the evening(s) but on Monday evening(s) etc.
- I'll see you in the morning.
- Do you work in the evenings?
- I'll see you on Friday morning.
- Do you work on Saturday evenings?
|
| D |
We do not use at/on/in before last/next/this/every:
- I'll see you next Friday. (not on next Friday)
- They got married last March.
In spoken English we often leave out on before days (Sunday/Monday etc.). So you can say:
- I'll see you on Friday. or I'll see you Friday.
- I don't work on Monday mornings. or I don't work Monday mornings.
|
| E |
In a few minutes / in six months etc.
- The train will be leaving in a few minutes. (= a few minutes from now)
- Andy has gone away. He'll be back in a week. (= a week from now)
- They'll be here in a moment. (= a moment from now)
You can also say: in six months' time, in a week's time etc.
- They're getting married in six months' time. or ... in six months.
We also use in ... to say how long it takes to do something:
- I learnt to drive in four weeks. (= it took me four weeks to learn)
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