When to use ‘in’, ‘on’ or ‘at’ with time

Do you know when to use in, on, and at in English?

These little words are called prepositions. They can be difficult to use correctly, because they appear very often, and there aren’t many rules to follow!

The Coffee Break English Show is a podcast series of bite-sized, friendly conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in English. In the latest episode, Josie and Maurizio talk about the rules for when to use in, on, and at when we talk about time, and they give examples to help you understand.

Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?

So, let’s get started and look at in, on, and at!

‘In’ for general time periods

We use the preposition in to talk about general, or “big” time periods. Here are some examples of these time periods.

‘In’ for years

We use in with years. For example:

I went on holiday in 2023.

He was born in 1995.

‘In’ for decades and centuries

We also use in to talk about decades (groups of 10 years) and centuries (groups of 100 years). Let’s look at some examples:

I was born in the 1990s.

The Beatles became popular in the 1960s.

We are in the 21st century.

The first man walked on the moon in the 20th century.

‘In’ for months and seasons

When we are talking about months and seasons in the year, we also use in. For example:

We usually go on holiday in June.

School starts in September.

My birthday is in the summer.

It sometimes snows in the winter.

‘In’ for times of the day

We also use in when we are talking generally about times of the day. Let’s see some more examples:

The sun rises in the morning.

I usually exercise in the afternoon.

He always takes a shower in the evening.

Watch out! We say in the morning, in the evening, and in the afternoon. But we don’t say in the night, we say at night.

‘On’ for more specific periods of time

Are you following so far? Maybe you need a refill of tea or coffee! Let’s continue…

We use the preposition on to talk about time periods that are less general than those with in. Here are some examples of these time periods.

‘On’ for days of the week and times within days of the week

We use on to talk about days of the week. We also use on when we mention times of the day within a specific day of the week.

A good rule to follow is: if we use the name of the day, we must use on.

Here are some examples:

I do yoga on Mondays.

Let’s meet up on Saturday.

On Sunday mornings she gets up late.

We are going out on Friday night.

‘On’ for special days

We also use on to talk about special days, like holidays and festivals. For example:

I eat lots of food on Christmas Day.

On Valentine’s Day, lots of people send cards and flowers.

We always have a big party on New Year’s Eve.

Watch out! We only use on with special days when the name includes the words day or eve. For holiday periods, we use at. This is explained in more detail later in the article.

‘On’ for dates

We use on for dates. Here are some examples:

My birthday is on June the 10th.

The election will be on the 21st of October.

‘At’ for the most specific periods of time

So far, we have looked at in for general periods of time, and on for more specific periods of time. Finally, let’s focus on at. We use at for periods of time that are even more specific, and “smaller” than those with in and on.

‘At’ for times

We use at to talk about precise times. Let’s see some more examples:

I finish work at 4 o’clock.

My nephew was born at 10.32 am.

We also use at to talk about specific points in the day. These may happen at different times. For example:

He always gets up at sunrise.

The beach is beautiful at sunset.

I talk to my colleagues at lunchtime.

‘At’ for holiday and festival periods

Earlier in this article, we learned about using on for holidays and special days, like on Christmas Day. But when we talk about holidays and festival periods, without using the words day or eve, we use at. Let’s look at a few examples:

We always take time off work at Christmas.

At Diwali, lots of people decorate their homes with lights.

I’m visiting my family at Ramadan this year.

It’s your turn!

Now, let’s practise! Here are three questions. Answer them so that they are true for you, using in, on, or at. Some possible answers are at the end of this blog post, but don’t look until you’ve thought about your answers!

1. What time do you start work?
2. When is your birthday?
3. When do you watch TV during the day?

If you found this post interesting, make sure you listen to the full podcast episode with Josie and Maurizio on The Coffee Break English Show. We will release more episodes soon, about some more useful topics! Subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube to learn when the next episode is available.

Plus! To get regular free English lessons in your inbox, you can sign up for our email lessons. We regularly send short (coffee-break-sized) email lessons that will help you improve your English. You will also hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, giving advice for language learners at any level. Sign up below!

So, keep practising in, on, and at! Remember that all English learners make mistakes, but people can usually still understand you. It’s all part of the language-learning journey.

Happy Coffee Breaking!

PS. Here are some possible answers to the test.

1. I usually start work at about 8.30 am, but on Fridays I start at 9 am.
2. My birthday is on the 10th of May. I was born in 1995.
3. I usually watch TV in the evenings or at night, and I never watch TV in the mornings.

Listen to the podcast