Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

We use:

• at for a PRECISE TIME
• in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
• on for DAYS and DATES

at	in	on
PRECISE TIME	MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS	DAYS and DATES
at 3 o'clock	in May	on Sunday
at 10.30am	in summer	on Tuesdays
at noon	in the summer	on 6 March
at dinnertime	in 1990	on 25 Dec. 2010
at bedtime	in the 1990s	on Christmas Day
at sunrise	in the next century	on Independence Day
at sunset	in the Ice Age	on my birthday
at the moment	in the past/future	on New Year's Eve

Look at these examples:

• I have a meeting at 9am.
• The shop closes at midnight.
• Jane went home at lunchtime.
• In England, it often snows in December.
• Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
• There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
• Do you work on Mondays?
• Her birthday is on 20 November.
• Where will you be on New Year's Day?

Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:

Expression	Example
at night	The stars shine at night.
at the weekend	I don't usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas/Easter	I stay with my family at Christmas.
at the same time	We finished the test at the same time.
at present	He's not home at present. Try later.

Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:

in	on
in the morning	on Tuesday morning
in the mornings	on Saturday mornings
in the afternoon(s)	on Sunday afternoons
in the evening(s)	on Monday evening

When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.

• I went to London last June. (not in last June)
• He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
• I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
• We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)

Prepositions of Place: at, in, on

In general, we use:

• at for a POINT
• in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
• on for a SURFACE

at	in	on
POINT	ENCLOSED SPACE	SURFACE
at the corner	in the garden	on the wall
at the bus stop	in London	on the ceiling
at the door	in France	on the door
at the top of the page	in a box	on the cover
at the end of the road	in my pocket	on the floor
at the entrance	in my wallet	on the carpet
at the crossroads	in a building	on the menu
at the front desk	in a car	on a page

Look at these examples:

• Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
• The shop is at the end of the street.
• My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
• When will you arrive at the office?
• Do you work in an office?
• I have a meeting in New York.
• Do you live in Japan?
• Jupiter is in the Solar System.
• The author's name is on the cover of the book.
• There are no prices on this menu.
• You are standing on my foot.
• There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
• I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:

at	in	on
at home	in a car	on a bus
at work	in a taxi	on a train
at school	in a helicopter	on a plane
at university	in a boat	on a ship
at college	in a lift (elevator)	on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top	in the newspaper	on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom	in the sky	on the radio, on television
at the side	in a row	on the left, on the right
at reception	in Oxford Street	on the way

Prepositions at, in, on

Preposition	Examples
in	We sit in the room.
	I see a house in the picture.
	There are trouts in the river.
	He lives in Paris.
	I found the picture in the paper.
	He sits in the corner of the room.
	He sits in the back of the car.
	We arrive in Madrid.
	He gets in the car.
	She likes walking in the rain.
	My cousin lives in the country.
	There are kites in the sky.
	He plays in the street. (BE)
	She lives in a hotel.
	The boys stand in a line.
	There is a big tree in the middle of the garden.
	He is in town.
	I have to stay in bed.
	You mustn't park your car in front of the school.
	The robber is in prison now.
at	She sits at the desk.
	Open your books at page 10.
	The bus stops at Graz.
	I stay at my grandmother's.
	I stand at the door.
	Look at the top of the page.
	The car stands at the end of the street.
	Can we meet at the corner of the street?
	I met John at a party.
	Pat wasn't at home yesterday.
	I study economics at university.
	The childen are at gandmother's.
	He's looking at the park.
	He always arrives late at school.
on	The map lies on the desk.
	The picture is on page 10.
	The photo hangs on the wall.
	He lives on a farm.
	Dresden lies on the river Elbe.
	Men's clothes are on the second floor.
	He lives on Heligoland.
	The shop is on the left.
	My friend is on the way to Moscow.
	Write this information on the front of the letter.
	When she was a little girl people saw unrealistic cowboy films on television.