Prepositions of Time

Exercise 1
Complete the sentences. Use at / in / on + the most suitable ending from the box.

the evening about 20 minutes 1492

the moment 12th January 2004 the 1920s
Sundays the Middle Ages 11 seconds
Labor Day the same time night

1. Columbus made his first voyage from Europe to America

______________________.
2. Only few people still go to church __________________________
3. The cruise ship Queen Mary left for its maiden voyage
_________________________.
4. If the sky is clear, you can see the stars ____________________________.
5. After working hard during the day, I like to relax and watch TV
____________________________.
6. It’s difficult to understand you if so many people are speaking
__________________________.
7. Jazz became popular in the United States ___________________________.
8. I’m just going to collect my children from school. I’ll be back
_________________________.
9. I’ve come to talk to Chris, but I see she’s not here
__________________________.
10. Many of Europe’s great cathedrals were built _________________________.
11. Bob is very fast runner. He can run 100 meters
________________________.
12. Most people have a day off ______________________________.

Exercise 2
Complete the sentences. Use before / during / after + the most appropriate ending
from the box.

the course doing the shopping they went to Australia

the end answering this question you cross the road
the examination eating the apple lunch

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the night leaving death

1. Everybody was nervous ______________________________.

2. I usually have lunch at 1.30 and _____________________ I go back to work.
3. The film was very boring. We left ________________________.
4. Lisa went to evening classes to learn Spanish. She learnt a lot
______________________.
5. Some people believe in life _______________________.
6. My aunt and uncle lived in London _________________________________.
7. Somebody broke a window ________________________. Did you hear
anything?
8. Always look both ways _________________________________.
9. They went home ______________________________.
10. ___________________________ , she washed it very carefully.
11. Think carefully __________________________________.
12. He said good-bye to each of us ______________________________.

Exercise 3
Fill in: while / during

1. I met my aunt __________ I was shopping.

2. __________ I was in Leipzig, I stayed at a four-star hotel with a gym, sauna,
and an indoor swimming pool.
3. The phone rang three times __________ we were having lunch.
4. I had been away for many years. __________ that time, many things had
changed.
5. What did they say about me __________ I was out of the room?
6. Please don’t interrupt me __________ I’m speaking.
7. Can you lay the table __________ I get the dinner ready?
8. The lights went out several times __________ the prime minister’s speech.
9. I’ll phone you sometime __________ the afternoon.
10. There are a lot of puddles. It must have rained __________ the night.

Exercise 4
In the following sentence, underline the preposition of ‘time’.

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1. Will you be home in time for diner?
2. Before we played tennis, we had a chat about what we did last weekend.
3. I’ll have more time towards the end of the week.
4. I have an appointment at a quarter past three.
5. We met some nice people during our stay in England.
6. Shakespeare lived in England from 1564 to 1616.
7. I was up till half eleven o’clock to get my homework finished.
8. Prior to today, he had never seen the movie ‘Avatar’.
9. I washed your socks this afternoon, so they should be dry by tomorrow morning.
10. The students worked on the project for hours.
11. On Mondays, I always sing in a vocal group.
12. He went home after he had finished his drink.
13. He worked throughout the day, and most of the night.
14. The population has increased over the past twenty years.
15. We didn’t talk while we were at the exhibition.

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Key
Exercise 1
1. in 1492
2. on Sundays
3. on 12th January 2004
4. at night
5. in the evening
6. at the same time
7. in the 1920s
8. in about 20 minutes
9. at the moment
10. in the Middle Ages
11. in 11 seconds
12. on Labor Day

Exercise 2
1. during the examination
2. after lunch
3. We left before the end
4. during the course
5. after death
6. before they went to Australia
7. during the night
8. before you cross the road
9. after doing the shopping
10. Before eating the apple
11. before answering the question
12. before leaving

Exercise 3 Exercise 4
1. while 1. in
2. While 2. Before
3. while 3. towards
4. During 4. at, past
5. while 5. during
6. while 6. from, to
7. while 7. till
8. during 8. Prior to
9. during 9. by
10. during 10. for
11. On
12. after
13. throughout
14. over
15. while

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