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Prepositions of time
How do you use at in a sentence?
Which is correct in or at?

Time is a pretty important part of all of our lives! Wherever we go and whatever we do, it’s always necessary to know how we’re relating to other people through time.

In English, there are a few different ways to think about time – which all depend on what exactly you want to say. So let’s take a closer look!

Prepositions of time

Prepositions are words that come before a noun, and shows that noun’s relationship with everything else in the sentence.

When it comes to prepositions of time – these are words that are used in a very similar way, only they show the relationship of things with reference to time, rather than anything else.

The main prepositions of time you will come across are “at”, “in” and “on”. Let’s take a closer look at what each one means, and how they’re used!

At

“At” is only used to describe specific times. It might be to describe a particular numerical time on the clock, or it could also be used to refer to particular and specific events or times of day.

Let’s take a look at some examples!

To use “at” in relation to clock time, you simply use the word followed by the time. For example:

“Her train is arriving at 8 o’ clock.”

“We had lunch at 11:30.”

“At” can be used with both 24 hour and 12 hour time descriptions, and both use the form in exactly the same way. For example:

“The plane is landing at 23:40.”

In some cases, you can also use “at” when you’re talking about a specific time of day, or event. But this one is a little more tricky!

You can use them to refer to general times of day, without specifying a particular time, such as “at breakfast, at lunch time, at night.”

You can also use “at” to refer to specific events or times, such as “at Christmas, at Easter.”

Let’s take a look at some examples:

“He came in late at night.”

“We’re going on holiday at Christmas this year.”

In

“In” is used in phrases that describe a more general period of time, that doesn’t have a specific clock time or time of day.

Let’s look at some examples to see how it’s used!

“We got up very early in the morning.”

“She is planning to move in December.”

“I was born in 1989.”

As you can see from the examples, you can use “in” to describe general periods of time like a particular year or month, or a more general time of day.

On

“On” is a very particular preposition of time, that is only used with specific days, dates or named days. For instance, you would use “on” to refer to a calendar date, a day of the week, or a special day that can be named by its significance, such as a birthday or anniversary.

Let’s look at some examples!

“On 12 March, I first learnt to swim.”

“Let’s all meet up on Tuesday.”

“She felt nervous on her wedding day.”

“I don’t want to work on my birthday!”

Your turn

Practice always makes things easier! These prepositions of time are really important to learn, and will be helpful when you’re communicating with people in all sorts of ways. So keep using each of them and pay attention to what is different between them!

We use:

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

at PRECISE TIME	in MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS	on 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.

*Note that in some varieties of English people say "on the weekend" and "on Christmas".

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 afternoon(s)
in the evening(s)	on Monday evening(s)

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)

Mini Quiz

Test your understanding with this quick quiz.

1. Choose the correct prepositions: "Let's meet _______ midday _______ Saturday."

at, at
in, on
at, on

a) at, at b) in, on c) at, on

2. Choose the correct prepositions: "The manager isn't here _______ present, but she'll be back _______ half an hour."

at, in
at, at
in, in

a) at, in b) at, at c) in, in

3. Which are correct? "You won't be working _______ Saturday nights _______ the future, will you?"

at, in
on, in
on, at

a) at, in b) on, in c) on, at

4. Which are correct? "I'm busy _______ moment, but I'll be free ______ evening."

at the, in this
in the, at this
at the, this

a) at the, in this b) in the, at this c) at the, this

Your score is:

Correct answers:

EnglishClub : Learn English : Grammar : Prepositions : Prepositions of Time - at, in, on

How do you use at in a sentence?

Example Sentences Using “At”.

I sat at my table and cried. ( ... .

Let's meet at 11:45..

The car will stop at the curb..

The dog scratched at the screen..

Their wedding was at the town hall..

There were tens of thousands of people at JLo's latest concert..

They laughed at all his jokes..

The tiger lunged at the monkey..

Which is correct in or at?

Deciding which word you should be using comes down to a question of where. “At” is used when you are at the top, bottom or end of something; at a specific address; at a general location; and at a point. “In” is used in a space, small vehicle, water, neighborhood, city and country.