Unit
121 at/on/in (time)
A Compare at, on and in:
They arrived at 5 o’clock.
They arrived on Friday.
They arrived in June. / They arrived in 2012.
We use:
at for the time of day
at five o’clock at 11.45 at midnight at lunchtime at sunset etc.
on for days and dates
on Friday / on Fridays on 16 May 2012 on New Year’s Day on my birthday
in for longer periods (months/years/seasons etc.)
in June in 2012 in the 1990s in the 20th century in the past in winter
B We say:
at the moment / at the minute / at present / at this time (= now):
Can we talk later? I’m busy at the moment.
at the same time
Kate and I arrived at the same time.
at the weekends / at weekends (or on the weekend / on weekends in American English):
Will you be here at the weekend? (or … on the weekend)
at Christmas (but on Christmas Day)
Do you give each other presents at Christmas?
at night (= during nights in general), in the night (= during a particular night):
I don’t like working at night. but I was woken up by a noise in the night.
C We say:
in the morning(s) but on Friday morning(s)
in the a ernoon(s) on Sunday a ernoon(s)
in the evening(s) on Monday evening(s) etc.
I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll see you on Friday morning.
Do you work in the evenings? Do you work on Saturday evenings?
D We do not use at/on/in before last/next/this/every:
I’ll see you next Friday. (not on next Friday)
They got married last June.
We o en leave out on before days. So you can say:
I’ll see you on Friday. or I’ll see you Friday.
I don’t work on Monday mornings. or I don’t work Monday mornings.
E We say that something will happen in a few minutes / in six months etc. :
The train will be leaving in a few minutes. (= a few minutes from now)
Andy has gone away. He’ll be back in a week. (= a week from now)
They’ll be here in a moment. (= a moment from now, very soon)
We also use in … to say how long it takes to do something:
I learnt to drive in four weeks. (= it took me four weeks to learn)
on/in time, at/in the end ➜ Unit 122 in/at/on (position) ➜ Units 123–125 in/at/on (other uses) ➜ Unit 127
242 American English ➜ Appendix 7
Unit
Exercises 121
121.1 Put in at, on or in.
1 Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756.
2 I’ve been invited to a wedding 14 February.
3 Amy’s birthday is May, but I don’t know which date.
4 This park is popular and gets very busy weekends.
5 I haven’t seen Kate for a few days. I last saw her Tuesday.
6 Jonathan is 63. He’ll be retiring from his job two years.
7 I’m busy right now. I’ll be with you a moment.
8 Sam isn’t here the moment, but he’ll be here this a ernoon.
9 There are usually a lot of parties New Year’s Eve.
10 I don’t like the dark. I try to avoid going out night.
11 It rained very hard the night. Did you hear it?
12 My car is being repaired at the garage. It will be ready two hours.
13 The bus station was busy. A lot of buses were leaving the same time.
14 Helen and David always go out for dinner their wedding anniversary.
15 It was a short book and easy to read. I read it a day.
16 midday, the sun is at its highest point in the sky.
17 This building is very old. It was built the fi eenth century.
18 The o ice is closed Wednesday a ernoons.
19 In the UK many people go home to see their families Christmas.
20 My flight arrives 5 o’clock the morning.
21 The course begins 7 January and ends sometime April.
22 I might not be at home Tuesday morning, but I’ll be there the a ernoon.
121.2 Complete the sentences. Use at, on or in + the following:
the evening about 20 minutes 1756 the same time the 1920s
the moment 21 July 1969 night Saturdays 11 seconds
1 Mozart was born in 1756 .
2 If the sky is clear, you can see the stars .
3 A er working hard during the day, I like to relax .
4 Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon .
5 It’s di icult to listen if everyone is speaking .
6 Jazz became popular in the United States .
7 I’m just going out to the shop. I’ll be back .
8 I don’t think we need an umbrella. It’s not raining .
9 Ben is a very fast runner. He can run 100 metres .
10 Lisa works from Monday to Friday. Sometimes she also works .
121.3 Which is correct: a, b, or both of them?
1 a I’ll see you on Friday. b I’ll see you Friday. both
2 a I’ll see you on next Friday. b I’ll see you next Friday. b
3 a Paul got married in April. b Paul got married April.
4 a I play tennis on Sunday mornings. b I play tennis Sunday mornings.
5 a We were ill at the same time. b We were ill in the same time.
6 a What are you doing at the weekend? b What are you doing on the weekend?
7 a Oliver was born at 10 May 1993. b Oliver was born on 10 May 1993.
8 a He le school last June. b He le school in last June.
9 a Will you be here on Tuesday? b Will you be here Tuesday?
10 a I don’t like driving in night. b I don’t like driving at night.
➜ Additional exercise 33 (page 321) 243
