At, in, on – prepositions of time

At, in, on: Prepositions of time

Download full-size image from Pinterest

At

Use at with times of day, including mealtimes, bedtime, etc.

• at 3 o’clock, at 10.30 am, at noon, at dinnertime, at bedtime, at sunrise, at sunset, at the moment

Use at in the following common expressions:

• 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/at the moment: He’s not home at present. Try later.

In

Use in with months, seasons, years, decades, centuries and long periods of time in general.

• in May, in the summer, in 1990, in the 1990s, in the 20th century, in the Ice Age, in the past/future

On

Use on followed by days and dates.

• on Sunday, on Tuesday mornings, on 6 March, on 25 December 2010, on Christmas Day, on Independence Day, on my birthday, on New Year’s Eve

Parts of the day:

• in the morning
• in the afternoon
• in the evening
• at night

For the difference between ‘at night’ and ‘in the night’, see our dictionary entry on night.

Last, next, every and this

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

• I went to London last June.
• I went to London in last June.
• He’s coming back next Tuesday. 
• He’s coming back on next Tuesday. 
• I go home every Easter. 
• I go home at every Easter. 
• We’ll call you this evening. 
• We’ll call you in this evening. 

For more mistakes with next and time expressions, see our dictionary entry on next.