In, at, on with time expressions

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary. I’m Neil.

A very smart Neil - and I’m Catherine. Why are you wearing a suit, Neil? You’re looking very smart for work.

Yes you’re right, I am wearing a suit because I’m going to a wedding at one o’clock !

Very good! I love weddings.

I love weddings too. I’m going to another one on Saturday !

Fantastic Neil. And at and on are two of the words we ‘re discussing in today’s programme.

Yes, because we’re talking about time expressions with in, on and at .

We’ll explain why we say at one o’clock but on Saturday.

Yes, and we’ll give you lots of examples.

Let’s start by listening to Mike and Rob. They are trying to find a time to meet up.

Think about this question while you listen: what time can Rob meet Mike?

How about lunch on Monday, Rob?

Well. I’ve got a meeting at 11.30.

Ok, are you free on Tuesday ?

Hmm, the engineer’s coming at lunchtime . The washing machine’s flooded again! It happened at Easter , too.

Well, what are you doing in the afternoon?

Sorry - I’m playing football.

Ok - perhaps we could meet in the pub on Saturday evening?

We’ve got guests at the weekend. How about this afternoon at two thirty ?

So, we asked you: What time can Rob meet Mike?

And the answer is: at two thirty.

When we say a particular time on the clock, we use at .

So, we say at two thirty, at three o’clock.

We also use at in other time expressions. Listen out for them in this clip.

How about lunch on Monday, Rob?

Well… I’ve got a meeting at 11.30.

Ok, are you free on Tuesday ?

Hmm… The engineer’s coming at lunchtime . The washing machine’s flooded again! It happened at Easter , too.

So Rob had a meeting at 11.30. It’s at because it’s a time .

That’s right. We also heard at lunchtime . We use at with particular points during the day, like mealtimes, so it’s at breakfast, at lunch, at dinner .

…and also we say at noon , at midnight .

Now Rob said his washing machine flooded at Easter . We use at to talk about a special day or group of days. So, it ‘s at Easter, at New Year.

At Christmas. So that’s at . Let ‘s look at on . We use on with days of the week. So: on Monday, on Tuesday .

We also use on with specific dates: on the third of May, on June the 20th .

…and we use on with specific days: on Christmas Day, on Easter Sunday, on my birthday !

That’s right. But remember it’s at Easter, at Christmas when we are referring to the general time period.

Let’s listen to another clip with more time expressions. Listen out for the time expression with in .

What are you doing in the afternoon?

Sorry - I’m playing football.

Ok - perhaps we could meet in the pub on Saturday evening?

We’ve got guests at the weekend. How about this afternoon at two thirty?

So we had in the afternoon . We use in with parts of the day, so it’s in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening.

But did you notice that it’s on Saturday evening. If we use a day of the week plus morning, afternoon or evening, we use on .

We also use in with seasons, so it’s in spring, in the winter.

We use in with months and years, so it’s in June, in 1996.

Notice also that Rob said at the weekend .

Rob speaks British English so he used at the weekend . Some other speakers will say on the weekend . It’s perfectly fine.

6 Minute Vocabulary from the BBC.

And we’re talking about time expressions with in, on and at .

So, to recap, we use on with days of the week, dates and special days.

We use at with times and particular points in the day.

British people say at the weekend.

And we also say at with festivals .

We use in for seasons, months and years.

And now for a quiz. Fill the gaps with in, on or at . Ready? Number one. What do you usually do [sfx: beep] the weekend?

And the answer is at .

Good. Number two. Don’t be late! The film starts [sfx: beep] nine.

And the answer is at .

And the last one. There are usually fireworks in London New Year’s Eve.

And the answer is on . Well done if you got them all right.

Now for today’s top tip for learning vocabulary: Instead of learning individual new words, try learning small chunks of language like time phrases. They will be easier to learn and they make your English sound more natural.

There’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Bye!