What time does it start?

What you will learn

После урока вы сможете выбрать at, on или in, когда говорите о времени события, и понять короткое расписание.

Start with a real schedule

We say: The English club is on Tuesday at 6:30. The day is a calendar surface, so it takes on. The exact point on the clock takes at.

At: one point in time

Use at with clock times and several fixed expressions: at noon, at midnight, at night, at the weekend (common in British English).

• The lesson starts at nine.
• I don't usually work at night.

On: a day or a date

Use on when the answer can be marked as one day on a calendar: on Monday, on Friday evening, on my birthday, on 12 May.

Notice that the part of day stays inside the day phrase: on Tuesday morning, not in Tuesday morning.

In: a longer period

Use in with months, years, seasons and parts of the day: in August, in 2028, in winter, in the morning.

Exception: say at night, but in the morning / afternoon / evening.

No preposition

Do not add at/on/in before today, tomorrow, yesterday, this, next, last, every: See you next Friday. Not: on next Friday.

Decision check

Ask what kind of time expression follows. Exact point → at. Calendar day → on. Longer period → in. A word such as next or tomorrow → no preposition.

Try it yourself

Write four lines from your real or imagined weekly schedule. Include one clock time, one named day, one month or part of the day, and one phrase with next or tomorrow.

Check: Did you use at, on, in, and one expression with no preposition?