Prepositions of Time & Place

Most common prepositions of time 

Use of prepositions «in», «on», «at» with different time periods and phrases 

In	On	At
in the morning	on Sunday (morning)	at 6 o’clock
in the afternoon	1 September	at midday/at midnight
in the evening		at night
in (the) summer		at lunchtime
in September		at the weekend
in 2010		at Christmas
in the 90s		at the same time
in the 19th century

1.1 Use «in» for parts of the day, months, seasons, years, decades and centuries.

Examples

We like to relax in the evening.

My birthday is in January.

We go to the beach in the summer.

She was born in 1995. 

Fashion trends changed a lot in the 1980s.

We are living in the 21st century.

We also use «in» to indicate a period of time before something happens. 

Examples

We will leave in four weeks.

The meeting will start in a few minutes.

1.2 Use «on» for days and dates.

Examples

We will meet on Friday.

Her birthday is on April 5th.

1.3 Use «at» for times of the day, night, weekend, festivals and some set expressions.

Examples

The class starts at 7 p.m.

We will have a party at the weekend.

The train leaves at midnight.

We will meet our family at Christmas.

The conference will begin at the same time as last year.

1.4 Use «after» to indicate a later time or event happening after another.

Examples

Let's meet after the show.

I will call you after the meeting. 

1.5 Use this/last/next without any prepositions when describing time.

Examples

We have a test this week.

She is starting a new job this month.

He will finish his project next week.

They had a meeting last Friday.

We went to Paris last year.

Using prepositions of place:

Most common repositions of place 

Examples

The keys are in the drawer.

The book is on the table.

The cat is sleeping under the bed.

The bus stopped in front of the hotel.

The coffee shop is near the university.