Using English Prepositions - Lesson 6: In, On, At - Part 2 (time)

My son explained that we sometimes watch TV

at breakfast in the summer.

What's the difference between AT and IN?

Could we say "on the summer"?

Why "in the summer"?

IN, ON, and AT are all used to express time.

IN is generally used for larger periods of time:

ON is used for days, dates, and shorter periods of time:

AT is used for specific times:

Let's look at more common uses of IN, ON, and AT.

Remember with larger periods of time, we generally use IN.

With shorter periods of time, such as a day of the week or a holiday, we use ON.

And with specific times, we usually use AT.

See if you can follow these next examples.

The second time is more specific.

But for some reason, we say "at night."

It's an exception.

Because a date is more specific than a month.

Because that's a specific date.

So we use "at" when we name the event.

However, if the event is not named,

we simply say "in the beginning" / "in the end,"

and it's understood which period or event we're referring to.

Let me show one more point of confusion.

Has anyone ever asked you to arrive on time

or reminded you to be on time?

Of course, they have.

And what they're asking you to do

and what they expect you to do

is to arrive at the agreed upon time,

a specific time,

such a 4 o'clock.

In contrast, you can arrive in time to do something.

IN TIME = in order to do something

Now let's try an exercise

to practice the prepositions of time that we've looked at.