At/on/in (time)

We use at with times

at 5 oclock at 11.45 at
midnight at lunchtime
Tom usually leaves work at five oclock

But we usually leave out at when we ask (at)

what time...?
What time are you going out this evening?
We also use at in these expression:

At night
I dont like going out at night

At the week-end(s)
will you be here at the week-end?

At Christmast (public holiday periods)

we give each other presents at Christmast
At the moment/ at present
Mr. Benn is busy at the moment/ at present

At the same time

Ann and I arrived at the same time

At the age of
Tom left school at the age of 16
We use on with dates and days

On March on Friday(s)
on Christmast Day
They got married on 12 March

We also say:
on Friday morning(s) on Saturday night(s)
on Monday evening(s)
on Sunday afternoon(s)

I usually go out on Monday evenings.

We use in for longer periods of
time (for example: monthly, years,
seasons)

In April in 1968 in (the) winter in the

18th century
in the 1970s in the Middle Age

They got married in 2005

We also say: in the morning(s) in the

afternoon(s) in the evening(s)

Ill see you in the morning

We do not use at/ on/ in before
last and next

Ill see you next Friday

They got married last March

In + period of time = a time in the future

The train will be leaving in a few minutes.

Jacks gone away. Hell be back in a week.
They are getting married in six months.

You can also say in six months time, in a weeks time,

etc.

They are getting married in six months time.

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).
For, during and
while
for and during
We use for + a period of time to say how
long something goes on:
For six years for two hours for a week

Ive lived in this house for six years.

We watched television for two hours last night.
Ann is going away for a week in September.
Where have you been? Ive been waiting for
ages.
Are you going away for the week-end?
You cannot use during in this way:
It rained for three days without stopping.
(not during three days)

We use during + noun to say when

something happens (not how long)

during the film/ during our holiday /during the

night
I fell asleep during the film.
We met a lot of interesting people during our
holiday.
The ground is wet. It must have rained during
the night.
Ill phone you sometime during the afternoon.
During and while
We use during + noun
I fell asleep during the film.

We use while + subject + verb

I fell asleep while I was watching television.
Compare during and while in
these examples
We met a lot of interesting people during our
holiday.
We met a lot of interesting people while we
were on holiday.

Robert suddenly began to feel ill during the

examination.
Robert suddenly began to feel ill while he was
doing the examination.
Here are some more examples
of while
We saw Ann while we were waiting for the
bus.
While you were out, there was a phone call for
you.
Tom read a book while I watched television.