Prepositions of time: at, on, in

Think of the time as getting longer: at for a point, on for a day, in for anything longer.

Preposition	Use	Examples
at	Clock times, mealtimes, night, holiday periods	at 7.30, at lunchtime, at night, at the weekend (British English)
on	Days, dates and single special days	on Monday, on 15 August, on my birthday, on Independence Day
in	Parts of the day, months, seasons, years, decades and centuries	in the morning, in June, in summer, in 2024, in the 1990s

Other prepositions of time

Don't use a preposition before this, next, last, every, today, tomorrow or yesterday: "I'll see you next Monday", not "on next Monday". Note also "in the morning" but "on Monday morning".

Preposition	Use	Example
for	A length of time	I have lived here for six years.
since	A starting point, up to now	I have lived here since 2019.
during	Within a period	He fell asleep during the film.
by	Not later than	Submit the essay by Friday.
until	Up to a point, and then it stops	The shop is open until 9 p.m.
from ... to	The start and end of a period	We work from 9 to 5.

Prepositions of place: at, on, in

At shows a point, or a place where an activity happens: at the door, at the station, at work, at school.

On shows a surface or a line: on the wall, on the floor, on the road, on the second floor.

In shows an enclosed space or an area: in the room, in the car, in Kolkata, in India.

With transport, say in a car and in a taxi, but on a bus, on a train and on a plane.

Other prepositions of place

These describe position. They are useful for describing maps and rooms.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
under, below	Lower than	The cat is under the bed.
above, over	Higher than	The clock is above the door.
next to, beside	At the side of	Sit next to me.
between	In the middle of two things	The bank is between the café and the post office.
among	Within a group	She sat among her friends.
in front of, behind	Before or after something in position	The car is parked in front of the house.
opposite	Facing, on the other side	The school is opposite the park.

Common mistakes

Wrong: I was born on 1999.
Right: I was born in 1999.
Years take in.
Wrong: We will meet on next Friday.
Right: We will meet next Friday.
No preposition before next, last, this or every.
Wrong: I have been studying since three hours.
Right: I have been studying for three hours.
For gives a length of time. Since gives a starting point.
Wrong: Please send the form until Friday.
Right: Please send the form by Friday.
By sets a deadline. Until means something continues up to that time.

Using this in IELTS and PTE

Prepositions of time appear in almost every IELTS Writing Task 1 answer: "in 2010", "between 2010 and 2020", "over the period", "by 2030". Prepositions of place matter for map and plan questions: "to the north of the river", "next to the car park", "opposite the library". IELTS Listening map tasks use the same words, so learn how they sound as well as how they look. They are just as useful in PTE Describe Image.

5 questions

Exercise

Try each one, then open it to check your answer.

1. Complete this: "The meeting starts ___ 10 a.m."
at
Clock times take at.
2. Complete this: "My birthday is ___ 3 May."
on
Dates take on.
3. For or since? "She has worked here ___ 2021."
since
2021 is a starting point.
4. By or until? "Please finish the report ___ Monday."
by
It is a deadline: not later than Monday.
5. Correct this: "The keys are in the table."
The keys are on the table.
A table is a surface.

Frequently asked questions

At the weekend or on the weekend?+

Both are correct. At the weekend is British English, and on the weekend is American English.

In time or on time?+

On time means at the planned time: "The train left on time." In time means early enough: "We arrived in time to get seats."

Can a sentence end with a preposition?+

Yes. "Who are you talking to?" is normal English. The old rule against it isn't followed in modern usage.

Keep going

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