Prepositions-of-Time-Place-Beginners

PREPOSITIONS OF TIME & PLACE (BEGINNERS)

At – we use AT for the time of the day (e.g. I start work at 8 o’clock; The shops close at 5.30).
On – we use ON for days and dates (e.g. See you on Friday; I do not work on Sundays; the concert is on 22 November).
In – we use IN with longer periods [for example months/years/seasons] (e.g. see you in October; Emma left school in 1994; The garden is lovely in spring).
At – we use AT for the following: at the weekend, at night, at Christmas, at Easter, at the end of… at the moment.
In – we use IN to help describe the future: in five minutes, in two years, in three weeks, etc.
In/on – we use IN with the following: in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon, but ON with the following: on Monday morning, on Saturday evening, on Tuesday afternoon, on Friday night.
In/at/on – We do not use IN / AT / ON before this, last, next every (e.g. This morning/This week; Last August/Last week; Next Monday/Next week; Every day/Every week).

From…to (also: From…until) – means between two days, dates, times, etc. (e.g. They are closed from Monday to Wednesday; From the 18th century until the present…)
Until – until + the end of a period – means up to that day, date, time, etc. (e.g. until Friday; until December; until I come back).
Since – since + a time in the past (to now) – means from a certain time, day, date, etc. to now. We use SINCE with present perfect. (e.g. He has been in hospital since Monday; We have been married since last summer; It has been raining since I arrived). NOTE: We use FOR (not since) + a period of time (e.g. He has been in the hospital for three days; we have been married for 1 year; It has been raining for 3 weeks).

Before/during/after – used with nouns (e.g. Everybody is nervous before a test; nobody will cheat during the test; Everybody can relax after the test).
Before/while/after – used with verbs (e.g. Pick up your clothes before you play football; Drink plenty of fluids while you play football; You should have a shower after you play football).
During – during + noun: (e.g. during the meal)
While – while + verb: (e.g. while we were eating)
NOTE: We use FOR (not during) + a period of time (e.g. We played football for three hours; We have not been home for three weeks).
Before/after – You can use BEFORE / AFTER + -ing (gerund), but you cannot use BEFORE / AFTER + infinitive. (e.g. Finish your homework before going out; After reading the newspaper, he went to sleep).

In – (e.g. in a room, in a shop, in a car, in the water, etc.)
In – (e.g. in a garden, in a town, in the city center, in France, etc.)
In – (e.g. in bed, in hospital, in prison, in a street, in the sky, in the world, in a newspaper, in a book, in a photograph, in a picture, in a car, in a taxi, in the middle (of…))
At – (e.g. at the bus stop, at the door, at the traffic lights, at her desk, etc.)
At – (e.g. at home, at school, at work, at university, at college, at the station, at the airport, at Jane’s (house), at the doctor’s at the hairdressers, at a concert, at a party, at a football match)
On – (e.g. on a shelf, on a plate, on a balcony, on the first floor, etc.)
On – (e.g. on a bus, on a train, on a plane, on a ship, on the ground floor, on the way (to…), on the way home)

* Grammar explanations adapted from Raymond Murphy (Essential Grammar in Use), see this book for the detailed differences for the place prepositions in, at, and on.


Prepositions of Time & Place (Intermediate)

At – at midnight, at lunchtime, at sunset, etc.
On – on Christmas day, on 12 March 1991,