Using Prepositions

Preposition

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?