Prepositions of time in English

2024 Author: Angel Austin | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:14

Prepositions of time in English are very numerous. You can even say that there are more of them than in Russian, because in addition to literally translated words, there are synonyms that are translated into Russian in the same way, but are used in different situations. Prepositions of time are necessary in order to express at what point an event occurred. In this article, the most commonly used prepositions will be analyzed with translation and examples.

In - "in"

Probably the most commonly used preposition. Despite the fact that native speakers have been learning prepositions of time in English since grade 3, the use of in can confuse even adult Russian speakers. To use it correctly, you need to learn the situations in which this preposition is appropriate.

Situation	Example	Translation
With the words "morning" and "evening".	I wake up in the morning and go to bed in the evening.	I wake up in the morning and go to bed at night.
With the names of the months: "inJuly", "August", "December" and so on.	I am going to visit my aunt in October.	I'm going to visit my aunt in October.
When the year is mentioned: "in 1998", "in 1451" and others.	My younger brother was born in 2006.	My little brother will be born in 2006
With the names of the seasons: "winter", "spring", "summer", "autumn".	I like to travel a lot in summer, because I feel free and enjoy sunny days.	I like to travel in summer because I feel free and enjoy sunny days.
With long, long periods of time: "in the eighteenth century", "in the last millennium".	The author of this poem was born in the 19th century.	The author of this poem was born in the nineteenth century.

In addition, there are several set expressions with the preposition in. Here they are:

In time - on time (at the appointed time).
In a few days - within a few days.
In time - during amount of time. For example: we will finish it in an hour - we will finish it in an hour.

The abundance of rules can be intimidating for a beginner, but practicing prepositions of time in English is great for memorization.

At - "at"

The same example of a "synonymous" preposition, which was mentioned at the beginning of the article. It is used, however, inother situations. Here they are:

Situation	Example	Translation
Indicating a specific time in hours: "at five o'clock", "at six o'clock" and the like.	We invited him to dine with us at 7 o'clock.	We invited him to have dinner with us at seven o'clock.
With indications of a specific segment of the day: "at midnight", "at noon", "at lunch" and so on.	The lovers met secretly at the midnight.	The lovers secretly met at midnight.
When it comes to any holiday: "on the New Year", "at Christmas", "at the weekend".	What are you going to do at the weekend?	What are you going to do this weekend?

There are also certain fixed expressions with this preposition. Here they are:

At the moment
At present - now, in the present.
At the age of - at a certain age.
At the same time

There are more of them than for the preposition in, but they are logical and a bit similar to their counterparts in Russian, so there should be no problems memorizing them.

On - "on"

Another synonymous preposition in their solid general list. For it, as for almost all prepositions of place and time in English, there is a list of situations that require its use. Here they are.

Situation	Example	Translation
Indicating the exact date: "December fourteenth", "August twenty-sixth" and the like.	My older sister married my friend on December, 28.	My older sister married my friend on the twenty-eighth of December.
Indicating a specific day of the week: "Tuesday", "Thursday", "Saturday".	We decided to meet on Monday!	We decided to meet on Monday!
Indicating special, special dates. For example, "for a birthday".	Are you going to organize anything special on your birthday, or just celebrate it quietly with your family and closest friends?	Are you going to organize something special for your birthday, or just quietly celebrate it with your family and closest friends?

From … to …

These prepositions are used when you need to describe an action that took place from some point to some point. For example:

She was working in the office from 5 to 10

They rarely have problems. It is only important to remember that they are used exclusively together, but in this sense, never separately.

For

This preposition of time in English is used when you need to indicate how long this or that action lasted. translate prepositions fromEnglish to Russian literally in most cases is inefficient, but if, as an exception, to do so in this case, for will literally mean "during", "throughout":

I am so tired! I was working for ten hours! - I'm so tired! I worked ten hours straight!

Since

This preposition is used when you need to talk about an action that began to happen from a certain moment:

I have known he was a liar since I saw him for the very first time. - I knew he was a liar since the first time I saw him.

During

This preposition of time in English is used when it is necessary to mention an action that takes place during an event, event or phenomenon. For example:

We were talking friendly during the dinner. - During dinner (at dinner) we had a friendly conversation.

An important point to pay attention to in this case: the preposition during is used before nouns, but not before subordinate clauses. You can't say "during I was sleeping". There is a separate pretext for this.

While

The same substitute for during, when you need to link two simple sentences into one complex one. Here is how this preposition works in an example:

She called me three or four times while I was sleeping, but I didn't hear the call. - She called me three or four times while I was sleeping, but I didn't hear the call.

This preposition is almost always translated as"while" and, if the need for its use is in doubt, can be replaced by when - "when". Exactly the same substitution can be made with the sentence above, used as an example. It will look like this:

She called me three or four times when I was sleeping, but I didn't hear the call. - She called me three or four times when I was sleeping, but I didn't hear the call.

Many English prepositions are interchangeable. However, this does not mean that they should not be taught. They are not only found in exams and tests, but can also make speech more beautiful, richer and more accurate.

Untill or just till

Preposition of time in English, literally meaning "as long as". It is used to describe an action that took place before an event. For example:

I believed him untill I found out that it was useless. - I believed him until I realized it was useless.

This preposition is similar in meaning to to in the meaning of "before", but to, as mentioned above, is used only in combination with the preposition from.

Before

Preposition used to describe a situation where one action happened before another. For example:

He had left before you came, and I cannot call him, because I don't remember his phone number. - He left before you arrived and I can't call him because I don't remember his phone number.