At, on, in: when do things happen?
We use at, on and in with time. We say at for clock times: at 7 o’clock, at half past two. We also say at night and at the weekend. We say on for days and dates: on Friday, on Monday morning, on 5 May. We say in for months, seasons, years and parts of the day: in July, in winter, in 2030, in the morning, in the evening. Notice that we say at night, but in the morning. Learn the table and ask a friend: What time do you get up? When is your birthday?
| at | on | in |
|---|---|---|
| 7 o’clock | Friday | July |
| night | Monday morning | winter |
| the weekend | 5 May | the morning |
| half past two | my birthday | 2030 |
What time do you get up on school days?
I get up at half past six in the morning.
When do you play football?
On Fridays and Sundays, in the afternoon.
And when is your birthday?
It is in October, on the twelfth.
The school day starts at eight o’clock in the morning. On Monday, we have a science lesson. At break, we eat a sandwich. In winter it gets dark early, so we go home before it is dark. At the weekend we visit our grandparents. We always have a big dinner at night, on Friday.
Timetable talk. The child writes four times of the day on paper (for example 7 o’clock, 2 o’clock, night, Friday). The grown-up says a question: When do we have dinner? The child answers with at, on or in: We have dinner at night.