Parts of Speech & Usage

In / On / At for time

1 min read

In, on, and at are small words (prepositions) we use 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, but in the morning / afternoon / evening
On the weekend (American English) = at the weekend (British English)
On + a day + a part of the day: on Friday afternoon

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 small words (prepositions) we use 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, but in the morning / afternoon / evening
On the weekend (American English) = at the weekend (British English)
On + a day + a part of the day: on Friday afternoon

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

Agreement rules

Word Order with Adverbs of Frequency (always, never, usually)

Common confusions

Past vs. Passed

Conjugation

Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns (e.g. informations, advices)

Common mistakes

Since vs. For

Common mistakes

Stop / Remember / Forget / Try + gerund vs. infinitive

Some verbs can be followed by either -ing (gerund) or to + verb (infinitive), but the meaning changes. The most important ones at B2/C1 level are stop, remember, forget, and try. 1. Stop Stop + -...

Agreement rules

Tag Questions (You’re French, aren’t you?)

Common confusions