Grammar 1: prepositions of time

IN	ON	AT
in + year/month/season in 1988 in September in winter in the 21st century	on + day/date on Wednesday on 15 April on that day	at + clock time/meal time at three o’clock at lunch (time) at that time at the same time at the moment
in + a week or more in the Easter holiday in the autumn term	on + a single day on Easter Monday on Christmas day	at + two or three days at Easter/Christmas at the weekend
in + a part of the day in the morning in the evening	on+ a day + a part of the day on Friday morning	at night
NB We do not use in, on, at before every, last, next, this, tomorrow, yesterday. We go to Greece every summer. I will see you next Friday. The party is tomorrow evening.
in time = early enough We will have to hurry if we want to be in time for the show. We got to the airport in time to have a coffee before checking in.	on time = at the right time, on schedule The plane took off on time.   Rachel is never on time. She is always late.
in is used for a future time measured from the present The photos will be ready in an hour.
inis used for the time it takes to complete something I did the crossword in five minutes.

A. Insert at, on or in where necessary.

1) … 6 June	6) … September	11)... ten minutes
2) … 8 o’clock	7) … Saturday night	12) ... night
3) … Saturday	8) … the weekend	13)… breakfast time
4) … this evening	9) … the morning	14) … every weekend
5) … 2009	10)... last night	15) … next week

B. Insert at, on or in where necessary.

1) Bill Gates was born in Seattle ….. 1955.

2) I haven’t seen Ann for a few days. I last saw her ….. Wednesday.

3) The price of electricity is going up ….. January.

4) I’ve been invited to the wedding …. 14 February.

5) Hurry up! We’ve got to go …. five minutes.

6) I’m busy just now but I’ll be with you ….. a moment.

7) Jenny’s brother is an engineer, but he is out of work ….. the moment.

8) There are usually a lot of parties …. Christmas.

9) I hope the weather will be nice …. the weekend.

10) …. Saturday night I went to bed …. 11 p.m.

11) I don’t like travelling …. night.

12) We travelled overnight to Paris and arrived …. 5 o’clock …. the morning.

13) The course begins …. 7 January and ends sometime …. April.

14) My brother came home …. last Christmas.

15) It was quite a short book and easy to read. I read it …. a day.

16) I might not be at home … Tuesday morning but I’ll probably be there … the afternoon.

17) My car is being repaired in the garage. It will be ready …. two hours.

18) The group set off … yesterday morning.

19) The telephone and the bell rang … the same time.

20) I’m pretty busy … this week. I’m afraid I can’t see you … Friday.

C. Complete the sentences with ‘in time’ and ‘on time’.

1) The bus was late this morning but it is usually …

2) I like to get up … to have a big breakfast before going to work.

3) We want to start the meeting …, so don’t be late.

4) I have just washed this shirt. I want to wear it this evening, so I hope it will be dry …

5) The train service isn’t very good. The trains are rarely …

6) I nearly forgot that it was Joe’s birthday. Fortunately I remembered …

7) Why are you never …? You always keep everybody waiting.

VOCABULARY 1: DAILY ROUTINE

A. Study the following.

Sleep

During the week, I usually wake up at 6.30 a.m. I sometimes lie in bed for five minutes but then I have to get up. Most evenings, I go to bed at about 11.30 p.m. I am usually very tired, so I go to sleep/fall asleep very quickly. Occasionally though, I cannot get to sleep. When that happens, I sometimes manage to fall asleep at about 3 a.m., and then I oversleep in the morning. If I have a late night (≠ an early night), I try to have a nap in the afternoon. The weekends are different. On Saturday and Sunday I have a lie-in.

Food

In the week I have breakfast at 7.30 a.m., lunch at 1.00 p.m., and dinner around 7 p.m. I also have one or two snacks, e.g. cakes, biscuits or fruit, during the day at work. As I live alone/on my own/by myself, I also have to make my own breakfast and dinner, but during the week I do notbother to cook very much. I also have to feed my two cats twice a day as well.

Keeping clean

In the summer I have a shower in the morning, but in the winter I often have a bath instead. Sometimes I have a shave at the same time, or I shave when I have a wash and brush my teeth after breakfast. I wash my hair two or three times a week.

Study

In the morning I leave home about 7.30 a.m. and go to the university by bus. Ittakes meabout 20 minutes.My classes start at 8 a.m. We usually have two lectures and one seminar or practical. During the lecture we listen to the lecturer and makenotes. At the seminars we discuss different problems and answer the questions of the professor holding the seminar. My lunch break is about 40 minutes, so I can go to the refectory or to the snackbar. At the end of each term we take exams and have tests in several subjects.

Evenings

During the week I usually stay in, do my home assignments and have a rest. But at the weekend I often go out, but quite often I also have friends for dinner, or friends just come round for a chat or we play cards, e.g. poker or bridge.

Housework

I do the shopping on Saturday. Fortunately I have a cleaner and she does most of the housework: she does my washing, the washing-up and does most of the ironing.