Prepositions of Time

موضوع: Prepositions of Time الجمعة أبريل 29, 2011 6:55 am

Prepositions of Time

in, at, on

Introduction

There are three prepositions in English that are used with time

in, at, on. Generally,
in shows the “largest” time
or place, on
shows dates and time, and
at
usually shows the “smallest” time or place.

Let's look at the usage for
in, at, on.
Preposition TimeExample

At Use at with times	at 12:00	Brad usually eats lunch at 12:00.
Other common expressions with at	at night	They often go out at night.
	at Christmas (during a period of time around Christmas, for example, December 23rd-28th)	We visit our family and friends at Christmas.
	at the age of...	I moved to California at the age of two.
On Use on with dates and days	on January 18th	Pedro's birthday is on January 18th.
	on Saturday evenings	We usually stay go out on Saturday evenings.
	on Christmas day (on December 25th)	We have a special meal on Christmas day.
In Use in + a period of time = a time in the future	in a few minutes	The bus will be leaving in a few minutes.
In Use in + a period of time = a time in the future	in five weeks also: in five weeks' time	I learned to ride a bicycle in five weeks. We will start summer vacation in five weeks' time.
Use in for longer periods of time	in the 1960s	The astronauts explored the moon in the 1960s.
	in the 20th century	Automobiles and airplanes became very popular in the 20th century.
	in December	In December, you will study less.
	in 2010	The Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver in 2010.

Note: Do not use
in/at/on
before “next” or “last”

We will get married
next year.

Their baby was born
last March.

Prepositions of Time — for, during, while

Introduction

For, During, and While are three of the most common prepositions used in
time expressions.

Here are the general rules of using
for, during, and

while.
For

ExplanationExamples

For is used to express how long something or
someone has been doing something.

For
is used to state a period of time and is
usually used with a noun or a pronoun.

We waited
for an hour outside the theatre for
you.

Curtis has been riding his bicycle
for two
hours.

Rosie, my dog, has been barking
for a long time.

The traffic has been bad
for the last five
years.

While

Formula: (while + subject + verb)
ExplanationExamples

While is used to represent the length of time an action has been happening.	While I was playing the piano, my husband was doing the dishes.
While is used when speaking about two actions happening at the same time. The length of the action is not important.	While we were eating dinner, the radio was playing.
While is used with a subject and a verb (while + subject + verb)	The doorbell rang while we were eating dinner.

During

Formula:
during + noun (pronoun)
ExplanationExamples

During is used to say when something happens.	I will be really busy during the next year.
During is used with a noun/pronoun.	The children were sleeping during the movie. The power went out during the snow storm.

» Prepositions of time: in, on, at
» Prepositions and Conjunctions of Time- for/ during/ while/ when
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