These Prepositions of Time denote time in the sentence. It could be a day, a time, or a period. You know, the prepositions of time and place are almost same but what makes the difference is the usage. If we use the word to denote time, it becomes the preposition of time, while if we use it to denote place it becomes a preposition of time.
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Let’s break down the Prepositions of Time
| Prepositions of time | Explanations | Example |
| In | – Used for years / months / seasons – Used for morning / afternoon / evening – Period of time |
– I went backpacking in Europe in 1999/ in May 2017/ in summertime. – I went for a run in the morning/ afternoon/ evening. – This is my first chocolate in last three years. |
| On | – Days / period | – I will go for a haircut on Monday. – I will go shopping on the weekend. |
| At | – Night – At an exact time of the day |
– The moon shines at night. – We go to the sea coast every day to watch the sunrise at 5:30 am. |
| By | – at or before (like within), not after | – He will be back by 7 o’ clock. |
| Since | – Range of time: from a specific time to a specific time (could be still present) | – Before that tournament, Spain hadn’t won the soccer match since 1998. |
| Ago | – Back in time with reference to the present | – The dodo birds went extinct 5 centuries ago. |
| Till/until | – Up to the mentioned time | – Last year it rained till / until December. |
| From | – The beginning time of something specific | – It’s been raining money from the last 2 decades. – We have been waiting for you at the dinner from 6:30 pm |
| To | – To tell the exact time – Used to denote before a time while giving a period |
– It’s quarter to ten. – We play tennis from 6 p.m to 7 p.m daily. |
| Past | – Used while telling the time | – It’s quarter past 10. |
| Before | – A time earlier than | – I always reach the buss top before 9 o’ clock. |
| For | – A certain amount of time | – I was in Jhansi for 15 years. |
That’s actually a very good table for you to print and stick somewhere in the house if you are trying to learn Prepositions. Try coming up with new sentences using each of these Prepositions of Time and you are sure to understand their usage. Maybe try having a conversation with your friend or bench partner using all the above prepositions. Let’s see some more easy examples here, maybe you can try and justify why a preposition was used instead of another one in a sentence:
- Martha’s birthday falls in January.
-  My sister-in-law was born in 1986.
- There are flowers blooming everywhere in the spring season.
- Me and my brother go for a hike in the mornings in summer.
- My grandma expired 5 years ago.
- Cathy and I met at 9:30 am for the morning run.
- I went to the loo before leaving the zoo.
- Sheela meditates every morning from 6 a.m to 8 a.m.
- We are going for basketball practice on Sunday.
- She was waiting here till / until September before leaving for course.
- I have lived in India since 1999.
- Please be back by 10 o’ clock.
- Samantha was at the zoo for four hours.
Try some more examples on your own. It’s super fun! That wraps our chapter on Prepositions of Time. Keep watching this space to find out more Kinds of Prepositions.
Solved Question for You
Q:Â Fill in the blank with a suitable preposition.
The sports club meeting is _______ Friday.
- at
- for
- on
- in
Ans: The preposition ‘on’ is used to indicate a day or date. Since ‘Friday’ is one of the days in the week option C is correct. Whereas the preposition ‘at’ is used while speaking about a specific time, while ‘in’ is used to speak about a part of the day or month. Hence options A and D are incorrect. The preposition ‘for’ is a used to describe a time period. As the sentence doesn’t include a time period option B is incorrect.
all information is good but can u add more exceptions and errors that are commonly made while using prepositions.