ENGLISH CLASSES MARÍA

WHEN TO USE AT, ON AND IN

We use at:
 with particular points on the clock:
I’ll see you at five o’clock.
 with particular points in the day:
The helicopter took off at midday and headed for the island.
 with particular points in the week:
What are you doing at the weekend?
 with special celebrations:
At the New Year, millions of people travel home to be with their families (but we
say on your birthday).
We don’t use at with the question What time …? in informal situations:
What time are you leaving? (preferred to At what time are you leaving?)
We use on:
 with dates:
We moved into this house on 25 October 1987.
 with a singular day of the week to refer to one occasion:
I’ve got to go to London on Friday.
 with a plural day of the week to refer to repeated events:
The office is closed on Fridays. (every Friday) In informal situations, we often
leave out on before plural days:
Do you work Saturdays?
 with special dates:
What do you normally do on your birthday?
We use in:
 with parts of the day:
I’ll come and see you in the morning for a cup of coffee, okay?
 with months:
We usually go camping in July or August.
 with years:

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 The house was built in 1835.
 with seasons:
The garden is wonderful in the spring when all the flowers come out.
 with long periods of time:
The population of Europe doubled in the nineteenth century.

At or on?

We use at to talk about public holidays and weekends, but when we talk about a
particular special day or weekend, we use on.
Compare

We never go away at the New On New Year’s Day, the whole

Year because the traffic is awful. family gets together.

I’ll go and see my mother at the The folk festival is always held on
weekend if the weather’s okay. the last weekend in July.

In or on?

We use in with morning, afternoon, evening and night, but we use on when we

talk about a specific morning, afternoon, etc., or when we describe the part of
the day.
Compare

I always work best in the morning. I The ship left the harbour on the
often get tired in the afternoon. morning of the ninth of November.

In the evening they used to sit

It happened on a beautiful
outside and watch the sun going
summer’s evening.
down.

At or in?

In the night usually refers to one particular night; at night refers to any night

in general:
I was awake in the night, thinking about all the things that have happened.
‘It’s not safe to travel at night,’ the officer said.

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 At the end or in the end?

We use at the end (often with of) to talk about the point in time where something
finishes. We use in the end to talk about things that happen after a long time or
after a series of other events:
At the end of the film, everyone was crying.
Not: In the end of the film …
I looked everywhere for the book but couldn’t find it, so in the end I bought a
new copy.

At the beginning or in the beginning?

We use at the beginning (often with of) to talk about the point where something
starts. We usually use in the beginning when we contrast two situations in time:
At the beginning of every lesson, the teacher told the children a little story.
In the beginning, nobody understood what was happening, but after she
explained everything very carefully, things were much clearer.
See also:
 At

Other uses of in with time

We use in to say how long it takes someone to do something:

He was such a clever musician. He could learn a song in about five minutes.
We use an apostrophe -s construction (in a year’s time, in two months’ time) to
say when something will happen. We don’t use it to say how long someone
takes to do something:
I won’t say goodbye because we’ll be seeing each other again in three days’
time. We can also say in three days, without time, in this example.
He ran the marathon in six hours and 20 minutes.
Not: He ran the marathon in six hours and 20 minutes’ time.

Time expressions without at, on, in

We don’t normally use at, on or in before time expressions beginning

with each, every, next, last, some, this, that, one, any, all:
He plays football every Saturday.
Are you free next Monday at two o’clock?
Last summer we rented a villa in Portugal.

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 See also:
 Time
 Next

At, on and in (time): typical errors

 We use on not at to talk about a particular day:

The two couples were married in two different cities on the same day, 25
years ago.
Not: … at the same day, 25 years ago.
 We don’t use at to refer to dates:
The General was killed on 26 August.
Not: … at 26 August.
 We use at, not in, with weekend(s):
What do you usually do at the weekend? Do you go away?
Not: What do you usually do in the weekend?
 We use in with months, not on:
They’re going to Australia in September for a conference.
Not: They’re going to Australia on September …

VOCABULARY

Synonyms
- Therefore: accordingly, so, then, thus, consequently, hence, thence, and
so, for this reason, in consequence, on account of, since, wherefore.
- Linking words: First, firstly, next, last, finally, in addition, moreover,
furthermore, another, also, in conclusion, to summarise.
- Contrast: Unlike, nevertheless, on the other hand, despite/ in spire of, in
contrast, while, whereas, even so.
- Emphasis: undoubtedly, indeed, obviously, particularly, clearly,
absolutely, definitely, without a doubt.
- Very: absolutely, certainly, deeply, pretty, greatly, highly, incredibly,
remarkably, truly, really.
- As: such as, like, equally, similarly

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Vegetables
- Repollo: cabbage
- Zanahoria: carrot
- Maíz: corn
- Apio: celery
- Judías verdes: green bean
- Pimiento: pepper
- Setas: mushrooms
- Cebolla: onion
- Melocotón: peach
- Guisante: pea
- Calabacín: zucchini
- Pepino: cucumber
- Calabaza: pumpkin
- Berenjena: eggplant

WRITING TIPS FOR B1

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Email structure
The first thing you need to know is the different parts of an email, and these
are:
 Greetings: we greet the other person (i.e. say «hi» or «hello»).
 Opening paragraph: we react to the other person’s news and ask them
how they are feeling and whatever else you feel is appropriate.
 Main paragraph 1: in this paragraph we deal with the first important
point, which we can identify in the instructions.
 Main paragraph 2: if there is a different point to deal with, this paragraph
will do so.
 (We might have more main paragraphs, depending on the task.)
 Closing paragraph: in this paragraph we «start» to say goodbye by
wishing the other person well and asking them to reply to your email.
 Goodbye: we use a short expression to say goodbye.
 Signature: we sign the email with our name.

OPENING PARAGRAPHS

 It’s nice / great / good to hear from you. 

 It’s nice / great / good  to read your email. 
 I’m glad to hear your news. 
 I’m excited about…  (your news.)
 It’s great to hear that…
 I’m sorry to hear that…

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  I’m really sorry to read your news. 
 Thanks a lot for writing!
 It was good to receive your email. 
 Thank you very much for your email. 

MAIN PARAGRAPHS
- And, to connect 2 similar things or ideas.
- But, to connect two contrasting ideas.
- However, to connect contrasting ideas.
- Moreover, to add more information
- Because, to justify and opinion or idea.
- As for/Regarding: to switch to a new topic.
- Time linkers: then, after, that, yesterday, this morning

CLOSING PARAGRAPH

 Well, it’s time to say goodbye. 

 Anyway, I have to go now. 
 Well, it’s time to go. 
 Anyway, gotta go. 
 I really hope to hear from you soon. 
 I’m looking forward to hearing from you. 
 I hope you write back soon. 
 Make sure you write back soon. 

GOODBYE

 Best wishes,
 Best,
 Sincerely, 
 Take care, 
 All my love, 
 Love,
 Lots of love,