We use at with times

at 5 o’clock at 11.45 at
midnight at lunchtime
 Tom usually leaves work at five o’clock

But we usually leave out at when we ask (at) what

time...?
 What time are you going out this evening?
We also use at in these expression:

 At night
I don’t like going out at night

 At the week-end(s)
will you be here at the week-end?

 At Christmast (public holiday periods)

we give each other presents at Christmast
 At the moment/ at present
Mr. Benn is busy at the moment/ at present

 At the same time

Ann and I arrived at the same time

 At the age of
Tom left school at the age of 16
We use on with dates and days

On March on Friday(s)
on Christmast Day
 They got married on 12 March

We also say:
on Friday morning(s) on Saturday night(s)
on Monday evening(s)
on Sunday afternoon(s)

 I usually go out on Monday evenings.

We use in for longer periods of time (for
example: monthly, years, seasons)

In April in 1968 in (the) winter in

the 18th century
in the 1970s in the Middle Age

 They got married in 2005

We also say: in the morning(s)

in the afternoon(s) in the
evening(s)

 I’ll see you in the morning

We do not use at/ on/ in before
last and next
 I’ll see you next Friday

 They got married last March

In + period of time = a time in the future

 The train will be leaving in a few minutes.

 Jack’s gone away. He’ll be back in a week.
 They are getting married in six months.

You can also say “in six months’ time”, “in a week’s time”, etc.

 They are getting married in six months’ time.

We also use in to say how long it takes to do something

 I learnt to drive in four weeks. ( it took me four weeks to
learn).
for and during
We use for + a period of time to say how long
something goes on:
For six years for two hours for a week

 I’ve lived in this house for six years.

 We watched television for two hours last night.
 Ann is going away for a week in September.
 Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for ages.
 Are you going away for the week-end?
You cannot use during in this way:
 It rained for three days without stopping.
(not during three days)

We use during + noun to say when something

happens (not how long)

during the film/ during our holiday /during the night

 I fell asleep during the film.
 We met a lot of interesting people during our holiday.
 The ground is wet. It must have rained during the
night.
 I’ll phone you sometime during the afternoon.
During and while
We use during + noun
 I fell asleep during the film.

We use while + subject + verb

 I fell asleep while I was watching television.
Compare during and while in
these examples
 We met a lot of interesting people during our holiday.
We met a lot of interesting people while we were on
holiday.

 Robert suddenly began to feel ill during the

examination.
Robert suddenly began to feel ill while he was doing the
examination.
Here are some more examples of while
 We saw Ann while we were waiting for the bus.
 While you were out, there was a phone call for you.
 Tom read a book while I watched television.