Prepositions of Time

      Prepositions of Time

       Prepositions of time tell us the relationship of time between nouns and other words of a sentence. The most common prepositions of time are at, on, in, from, to, for, since, by, till/until, during. 

 
  In - part of the day, month, year, seasons, decades, centuries, millennia

      

      In is followed by the names of months and years. For example, I last went to Saint Martin in January 2009.

      In is also used before parts of the day: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. But, there are exceptions: at night, at sunset, at dawn. We can also use by before "dawn" to mean doing something before dawn.

      We can also use in before the names of the seasons: in summer, in winter, in spring, in autumn. We can also place during and over before the names of the seasons. Over means total frame of the time. During refers to "at some point of the total frame of the time". 

      Decade/century is also preceded by in. Global temperature has increased in the last decade/century. We can also place during and over. Look at the example: I taught at the college level during the past decade. It means in the last ten years I taught at the college level at some point of the decade but you don't know how long. If I say 'I taught at the college level over the last decade,' it means, for the last ten years, I had been in college. "I engaged myself on writing during weekend means I engaged myself on writing at some point of the weekend. "I engaged myself on writing over the weekend" means I engaged myself in writing all the time frame of the weekend.

      Over means all the time frame (Over the weekend means all the time frame of the weekend--It means I spent the whole weekend)
      During means at some point (During weekend means at some point of the weekend)

      In is also placed before centuries. For example, we can say modernism started in the 20th century.

      Note:  Difference between "in" and "within"

      When I say I will come back in ten minutes, it means that I will come back when ten minutes is over. When I say I will come back within ten minutes, I mean I will come back between now and ten minutes.

   

      On - day and date

      We use on with days. For example, I had a meeting with him on Monday. We use on with date: I was born on the 14th of June. 
      On is also placed before words "day" and "date". For example, we remember our heroic sons on Independence Day. We also offer a floral wreath on that date. 

       At - Precise time, special day, before words 'time' and 'movement'

       I like to get up at sunrise. At that time I go out for a walk. The environment is full of oxygen at the moment. By the way, I go to college at 10:am and come back home at noon.

      Be aware of British/American usage

      We say 'at the weekend' and 'at Christmas' in British English. In American English, we say 'On Christmas' and 'On the weekend'.

      Over

      We use over to describe something which happens within a longer period. For example:

•       Every time I went to Saint Martin over the winter, I found it full of tourists. 
•       Over the last weekend, I did my homework.  

        Over is synonymous with during. But it carries a conversational tone and we use it only with a longer time period.

        Note: To express time we can also use the phrase over time which means gradually. 

•      His sense of responsibility is growing over time. 
•      Internet users are increasing over time. 

 During and While

 During and while are used to say when something happens. We use them to talk about two things happening at the same time or something happening in the middle of something else. But, they follow different sentence structures. 

During is followed by a noun or noun phrase.

• He falls sick during the summer season.
• We enjoyed a lot during our trip

While is followed by a clause:

• One student stood up and questioned me while I was lecturing
• While I am out can you clean my room?
• I like taking care of my garden while I am free.

Note: We can also use at to talk about things happening at the same time.

• At the exact moment, I reached the college, my battery ran out. 
• We should not study and watch TV at the same time. 

Since

Since refers to a point of time in the past until now:

• ·         I have been working since 9:00 am
• ·         Everything is going good Since his arrival

Until

‘Until’ marks the end of action:

• ·         I’ll be here until Tuesday.
• ·         He studied until midnight yesterday.

By

Before/no later than:

• ·         I will have finished my writing by Tuesday.
• ·         By noon yesterday, I had been studying for three hours.

      For - a length of time

       For is used to mean a length of time. We can use for in various ways. Look at the following examples:

•       She worked in India for two months. 
•       I have done this work for nine years.
•       I'll be doing this work for three days.
•       I have been writing this novel for three days. 

        Phrases to express time

       We have some common phrases with for: For ages (for a long time), for a while (for sometimes which means not very long or not very short.

•        Their company is making money for ages.
•        This village has been suffering from religious dogma for ages. 
•        Let's sit together for a while.
•        You can stay here for a while. 

        Take verb to express time
         We can use take verb to express time. Take verb can be used in many different ways. Look at the       following examples:

•      How long will it take to finish your homework?
•      It will take half an hour to finish the work.           

     

       Exercise:

       We wake up ......... dawn. (at)

·         She became ill .......... her study in the USA. (during)

·         She met him ............ visiting Germany. (while)

·         They moved here ......... 2019. (in)

·         She’s been self-employed ....... many years. (from)

·         She is staying with us .......... next week. (until)

·         I got to the station..... time to catch my train. (in)

·         The letter should arrive .......... the next few days. (within)

·         I’m seeing my parents........... Christmas. (at)

·         The lesson ended .......... the time I arrived. (by)

·         11. She is punctual. She always arrives .......... time. (on )

·         I’m usually free .......... the afternoon. (in/during)

·         We all arrived......... same time. (at)

·         She never sleeps .......... the day (in/during)

·         They’re getting married .......... 21^st May. (on)

·         I haven’t seen her........... 2008.  (since)

·         The plane leaves ......... an hour. (in)

·         They usually go on holiday ......... autumn. (in)

·         He was born .......June. (in)

·         She has been sleeping ............ our departure. (since)


     Look at Prepositions of Movement

                                Preposition & Its Various Types

                                Prepositions of Place

                                Prepositions for Transportation


                                                                           ARUP ROY

WORKING AS A LECTURER IN ENGLISH  

LITERATURE & LINGUISTICS

AT KANCHKHURA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF IELD

FORMER LECTURER OF STAMFORD COLLEGE

& DHAKA PUBLIC COLLEGE

WORKED AS A MEMBER SECRETARY
AT STAMFORD ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLUB UTTARA