Parts of Speech & Usage

In / On / At for time

1 min read

In, on, and at are prepositions of time. They are used to talk about when something happens. The difference depends on how specific the time is.

At → exact time

Use at for precise moments.

At 3 p.m.
At noon
At midnight
At the weekend (British English)

The meeting is at 10:00.
I wake up at 7 a.m.

On → days and dates

Use on for specific days and dates.

On Monday
On July 5th
On my birthday

We have a meeting on Friday.
She was born on June 12th.

In → longer periods

Use in for longer periods like months, years, seasons, and parts of the day.

In 2024
In July
In summer
In the morning

I was born in 1995.
We will travel in August.

Important exceptions

At night (not “in the night”)
On the weekend (American English)
In the morning / afternoon / evening

Key idea

At → precise moment
On → day or date
In → longer period

💡 Tip

Think of a timeline:
At = a point
On = a day
In = a block of time

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 10Score: 0/10

The meeting starts ___ 9 a.m.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

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Parts of Speech & Usage

In / On / At for time

1 min read

In, on, and at are prepositions of time. They are used to talk about when something happens. The difference depends on how specific the time is.

At → exact time

Use at for precise moments.

At 3 p.m.
At noon
At midnight
At the weekend (British English)

The meeting is at 10:00.
I wake up at 7 a.m.

On → days and dates

Use on for specific days and dates.

On Monday
On July 5th
On my birthday

We have a meeting on Friday.
She was born on June 12th.

In → longer periods

Use in for longer periods like months, years, seasons, and parts of the day.

In 2024
In July
In summer
In the morning

I was born in 1995.
We will travel in August.

Important exceptions

At night (not “in the night”)
On the weekend (American English)
In the morning / afternoon / evening

Key idea

At → precise moment
On → day or date
In → longer period

💡 Tip

Think of a timeline:
At = a point
On = a day
In = a block of time

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 10Score: 0/10

The meeting starts ___ 9 a.m.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

Other similar rules

Common confusions

Then vs. Than

Common confusions

“Different from” vs. “Different than”

Common confusions

It's vs. Its

Common confusions

Who vs. That

Common mistakes

Used to / Be used to / Get used to

Common confusions

Make vs. Do

Common confusions

Insure vs. Ensure vs. Assure

Agreement rules