A time phrase tells the listener when something happens. The preposition depends on whether you name a point, a day or a larger period.

The idea

Use at for clock times and noon, on for days and dates, and in for months and phrases such as in the morning. A named morning takes on: on Friday morning. For nights in general, say at night.

Examples

  • The chess club meets on Tuesdays.
  • Our train leaves at noon.
  • The orchard opens in September.
  • I read the news in the morning.
  • The repair team arrives on Friday morning.
  • We visit the market at the weekend.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic English voice on your device. Quality and availability vary; it does not assess pronunciation.

Watch out

British English commonly uses at the weekend; American English commonly uses on the weekend. Neither normally uses in the weekend. Say next Friday without these prepositions.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the correct option. The chess club meets ___ Tuesdays. (on / in)

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    on

    on introduces the repeated day Tuesdays. The plural means the club meets each Tuesday.

  2. Choose the correct option. Our train leaves ___ noon. (at / in)

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    at

    at marks the specific point noon, not a general part of the day.

  3. Choose the correct option. The orchard opens ___ September. (in / on)

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    in

    in introduces the month September; months do not normally take on.

Use it today

Write a three-line timetable for a club. Include a day, a clock time and the month when a new activity starts.