What are Prepositions of Time?
Prepositions of time are grammatical words that allow you to talk about a specific time period, like one of the days of the week, seasons, dates, or hours. Prepositions of the time are easily distinguished as they are always used to talk about time rather than places. In this article we cover most used preposition of time along with examples.
Examples:
- During the pandemic, stores tend to close early at night.
- The world wide web (www.) was invented in 1989.
- We go to the supermarket to buy groceries on Sundays.
- The class ends in an hour and half.
- The Grand Garden opens from 9am to 5pm.
- We waited for you until/till the sun set.
Prepositions of time are great for people who write stories, as they can help their readers know when things are taking place in time. Additionally, they can be used in simple communications, work reports, and other situations.
Types of Preposition of Time:
The table below contains most of the prepositions of time, along with examples for each:
| Preposition of time | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| On | Days | We play basketball on Sundays. |
| Weekends (American English) | What do you do on the weekend? | |
| In | months / seasons / year | I visited London in April, 2004. |
| morning / evening / afternoon | I like to have omelets in the morning for breakfast. | |
| period of time | This is the first trip I have had in three years. | |
| At | Night | Everyone sleeps at night |
| Weekend (British English) | What did you do at the weekend? | |
| Exact or a particular time | There’s a meeting at 2.30 this afternoon. | |
| Since | Time in the past until now | I have not gone to the mall since the pandemic started. |
| For | To show an amount of time | We baked the cake for her birthday |
| Ago | back in the past | I was in Africa a week ago. |
| Before | at or during a time earlier | I brush my teeth before bedtime. |
| From | used to show the time when something starts | The Grand Garden opens from 9am to 5pm. |
| Until/Till | up to (the time that) | We waited for you until/till the sun set. |
| by | not later than; at or before | He arrives at work by nine o’clock. |
- Among other propositions, there are the propositions of place; they can be used to indicate place of something or expressing a location.
Learn more about prepositions of place…
