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Preposition of Time
from My first document
by Anny Meilyn
What is a preposition of time?
A preposition of time is a preposition that allows you to discuss a specific time period such as a date on the calendar, one of the days of the week, or the actual time something takes place. Prepositions of time are the same words as prepositions of place, however they are used in a different way. You can easily distinguish these prepositions, as they always discuss times rather than places.
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At – This preposition of time is used to discuss clock times, holidays and festivals, and other very specific time frames including exceptions, such as “at night.”
We use AT with specific times (hour / minutes):
I get up at 7 o'clock.
My English class starts at 10am. She finishes work at 6.15
I left the party at midnight. Midnight (and midday) is a specific hour which is why we use AT.
12am = midnight 12pm = midday / noon
We use AT for a holiday period of two or more days:
Do you normally get together with your relatives at Christmas?
Did you eat a lot of chocolate at Easter?
On – This preposition of time is used to discuss certain days of the week or portions of days of the week, specific dates, and special days such as “on New Year’s Day.”
We use ON for specific days and dates:
I will return it to you on Wednesday. They got married on Friday the 13th. We get paid on the 20th of every month.
I drank too much milk on New Year's eve. Remember that for dates, we use ordinal numbers.
E.g. the First of September (not the one of September)
We use IN for specific months, years, seasons, centuries and lengths of time.
My birthday is in January. (I don't mention the date, just the month)
My grandmother was born in 1927.
The river near my house is dry in Summer. The company was founded in the 19th century.
We need to have this report ready in 15 minutes.
Compare:
The New Zealand National day is in February.
(I don't mention the day - only the month)
The New Zealand National day is on February 6th.
(I mention the day - the order is not important)
Prepositions of time allow you to tell your readers when things are taking place. They are vital parts of speech to use in stories, as well as when writing simple communications, reports, and other items.
