Unit 10 Prepositions of time

10.1 Prepositions with time expressions

10.2 Other prepositions of time
10.3 Prepositions/prepositional phrases

Grammar Practice
Part A Part B Part C Part D Part E

Language Practice
Part F Part G Part H Part I

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
10.1 Prepositions with time expressions
We use different prepositions with different time
expressions.

at 4 this afternoon.
The match will
on 28 September.
be broadcast live
in the afternoon.

Prepositions of time are

often used in texts related to
history, plans and travelling.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
The table below shows how the prepositions at, on and in
are used:

at on in
• with exact • with specific  for longer periods of
points in time days/dates time

• with holidays/
festivals
at 9 am on Monday in March
at lunchtime on Wednesday in 2014
at Christmas on 22 March in the last century

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

at on in
• We also say: • We also say:  We also say:

at night/ on Monday in the morning/

midnight morning afternoon/evening

at the on the evening in the night/the

weekend of 22 March middle of the night

at dawn/ on that day/a in modern times

daybreak/ cold day
in one’s absence
sunrise/noon/ on National
dusk/sunset Day

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

at on in
• We also say: • We also say:  We also say:

at first/last on my birthday in the past

at the same on this occasion in those days

time on his arrival/ in (the) future
at present/the departure
moment on Christmas
at the age of Eve/Day

at the
beginning of

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

at on in
• We normally • on + gerund (also  We also use in:
omit at when we upon) (a) to talk about a
ask (At) what period of time in
On hearing
time ...? the future
the news, she
informally.
collapsed. I’ll be back in
What time are half an hour.
you leaving Compare:
tonight? (b) to say how long
Upon hearing it takes to do
(informal) the news, she something
Compare: collapsed.
(more formal) I finished the
At what time are novel in
you leaving three days.
tonight? (formal)
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
10.2 Other prepositions of time
Here are some examples of other prepositions of time:
I did some reading before/after dinner.
The shop opens from 9 am to 10 pm/is open
between 9 am and 10 pm every day.
I haven’t seen her since last year/for a year.
They talked about the good old days over dinner.
(= during)
She remained silent throughout the meeting.
(= from the beginning until the end of the
meeting)
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
10.3 Prepositions/prepositional phrases

• by and We use by to mean ‘not later than’. We use until to

until show how long a situation continues.
‘You must be home by 11 o’clock,’ Mr Tam said
to his daughter.
‘I’ll be here until 12 noon,’ he said. ‘If anyone
calls in the afternoon, please ask them to leave a
message.’
‘I won’t be back until 2 pm,’ he said. ‘If anyone
calls in the morning, please ask them to call
again in the afternoon.’

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

• in and We use in and during for a period of time, often with

during the same meaning.
It rained heavily in/during the night.
But we prefer to use during for something which
continues throughout a period of time.
My parents visited Australia during the winter
break.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

• on time Our train arrived on time. (= Our train was not

and in late.)
time
We arrived at the station in time to catch our
train.
(= We arrived soon enough to catch our train.)

• at the At the end of the show, the performers came

end and out to take their curtain call. (= when the show
in the ended)
end
At first the new boy failed in many subjects, but
in the end he managed to keep up with the rest
of the class. (= finally, eventually)

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
! Caution!

1 We use during, not in, to refer to an activity (a visit, a meal,

etc.).

 She mentioned your name in lunch.

 She mentioned your name during lunch/the
meeting.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

2 We do not use a preposition of time before today, yesterday,

tomorrow, last (month, week, etc), this (morning, year, etc.), next
(Friday, Easter, etc.), every (weekend, morning, etc.), (two
days, three hours) later, etc.

 We’ll have a picnic on this Sunday.

 We’ll have a picnic this Sunday.
Compare: The missing girl was found two days
later.
I’ll give you an answer in two days.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
Grammar Practice
Complete the sentences with prepositions. If no preposition
is needed, put a cross () in the blank. The first one has been
done for you as an example.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

1 at
Mr Chan doesn’t normally work _________ weekends,

but he had to work _________ last Saturday.

2 
I’m going on holiday _________ tomorrow, but I’ll be
in
back _________ a week’s time.

3 in
She learned to use the computer _________ a few days.

4 in
She woke up early _________ the morning, but didn’t get
at
out of bed until her alarm clock rang _________
8 o’clock.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

5 on
I know that girl. I’ve met her _________ several occasions.

6 during the war

She was separated from her parents _________
until many years later.
and they weren’t reunited _________

7 
The concert is _________ this Friday.

8 I sometimes take my grandmother to the cinema, but she

during the film.
usually falls asleep _________

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Some of the underlined prepositions in the following

sentences are incorrect. Correct them. If the sentence is
correct, put a tick () at the end of the sentence. The first
two have been done for you as examples.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
on
1 I’ll see you again in Sunday.

2 It’s been raining for days. 

3 Tom and Rachel were born in the same year. 

4 Mr Lee is in Shanghai at the moment. 

on
5 The trains depart at the hour.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
On/Upon
6 At seeing the scene, his jaw dropped in disbelief.
upon/on
7 Guests are requested to sign the visitors’ book in
arrival at reception.

8 Please wait for me. I’ll be back in a moment. 

at
9 Do you believe in love on first sight?
until
10 We won’t be able to make any plans after we get
more information.
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Prepositions are missing from some of the following

sentences. If a preposition is missing, put a ‘ ^’ sign and
write the correction above it. If no preposition is needed, put
a tick () at the end of the sentence. The first two have been
done for you as examples.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
at
1 He left home 7.15 this morning.
^

2 I won’t be home for dinner this evening. 

in
3 I’ll return your DVD a day or two.
^

4 Are you free next Saturday? 

until/before
5 He isn’t expected to return to Hong Kong^the middle
of next month.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

6 They’ll deliver the package the day after tomorrow. 

in
7 He’s been lucky the past.
^

8 The workers held a meeting during lunch. 

9 Mr and Mrs Chan are not leaving until the end of the month. 
on
10 I met an old friend my way to school this morning.
^

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
on/during
11 We met a lot of interesting people the trip.
^
in/during
12 There was a heated argument the meeting yesterday.
^

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Fill in each blank in the dialogue with a suitable preposition.

The first one has been done for you as an example.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Eric Last night, I watched a programme (1) on

(1) ____________

TV about the origins of April Fool’s

Day.

Jenny That sounds interesting.

Eric Well, (2) the 1950’s, a British in

(2) ____________

television channel broadcast a

documentary (3) Swiss villagers about
(3) ____________

harvesting spaghetti (4) trees. from

(4) ____________

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Eric The programme attracted millions of

viewers and hundreds of enquiries (5) about
(5) ____________

how to grow ‘spaghetti trees’.

Jenny I don’t believe it! How could people

be so naive? I don’t think it’s right
(6) the media to show make-up news for
(6) ____________

stories (7) the public. to

(7) ____________

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Eric I couldn’t agree with you more. You

know, (8) the 1940s, a tsunami caused in
(8) ____________

(9) a strong earthquake (10) the Aleutian by

(9) ____________

Islands killed 165 people in Hawaii (10) in/near/off/on

____________
and Alaska. Before the disaster
struck, they’d been warned (11) the of/about
(11) ____________

imminent danger, but many

dismissed the warning (12) a prank. as
(12) ____________

Jenny What a tragedy!

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Match the sentences in Column A with the time expressions

in Column B. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
Use each letter ONCE only. The first one has been done for
you as an example.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Column A

1 I work more effectively D

_________

2 I’ll be with you A

_________

3 I didn’t receive your letter J

_________

4 She lived in Shatin from 1973 I

_________

5 They were in Spain between February F

_________

COLUMN
COLUMN B
B P.98
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Column A

6 They had a heated debate H

_________

7 Mr Chan felt tired B

_________

8 I haven’t heard from her E

_________

9 We haven’t seen each other C

_________

10 The fireworks began G

_________

COLUMN
COLUMN B
B P.98
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
Language Practice
Fill in the blanks in the announcement with the words given
in brackets, and suitable prepositions if needed. The first
one has been done for you as an example.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Good morning, Principal Lee, teachers and schoolmates!

Here are the announcements for today:

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

is going to be/is being/

will be held on 25 May
1 The annual Swimming Gala (1) _________________________
will begin next Monday
(hold/25 May). Enrolment (2) __________________________
(begin/next Monday). Enrolment forms can be obtained
from the General Office and the school library. Interested
parties should submit the completed enrolment form to
by/before/on or before 25 April
the Sports Club (3) ___________________________________
(25 April). For details of the event you can visit the Sports
Club’s website.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Starting from next Saturday (start/next Saturday), the

2 (4) _____________________________
school library (5)will be open/will open on both Saturdays
_____________________________________
and Sundays (open/both/Saturdays/Sundays), (6)between
_____________ 9 am
___________
and 5 pm/from 9 am to 5 pm (9 am/5 pm). If you would
______________________________
at the weekend/
like to use the school library (7) _________________________
at weekends (weekend), you need to wear the formal
_____________

school uniform or the PE uniform.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

come to school on
3 Students are again reminded to (8) ______________________
late
time (come/to school/time). Anyone who is (9) _________
________
for school three times (late/school/three times) will be
________________________
given detention. Also, Secondary One students must (10)
stay on campus during/throughout lunchtime
_______________________________________________________

(stay/campus/lunchtime).

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

is holding/is going to hold/will hold

4 The Film Club (11) ______________________________________
a film show in the Student Activity Room on 15 April
________________________________________________________
(hold/a film show/Student Activity Room/15 April). The film
a musical set in the 1960s
will be Hairspray, (12) ___________________________________
(a musical/set/1960s). Seating is available on a first come,
first served basis.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

5 As in previous years, the annual Singing Contest will be

held (13) _______________________________
at the end of the school year (the end of the
school year). Auditions (14)
are going to/will begin in mid-April (begin/mid-April). For
___________________________________

details, please refer to the Music Club’s website.

This is the end of the announcement. Thank you.

(Note: accept all reasonable answers)

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Read the information about a theme park. Then, complete

the short text below using ONE word for each blank. The
first one has been done for you as an example.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Timeline of Sea World

1980: Officially opened

1986-1988: The Community Fund provided $240 million to
expand Sea World
2013: Received the 2013 Applause Award from IATP
(International Association of Theme Parks) Expo Every year:
More than 10 million visitors
Today: One of the world’s favourite tourist attractions

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Opening Hours

Mon-Fri 10.30 am - 7.00 pm (Penguin Pavilion: 10.30 am -

6.00 pm)
Sat-Sun 9.30 am - 7.00 pm (Penguin Pavilion: 10.30 am - 6.00
pm)

Admission

Adult (aged 12 or above) HK$360

Child (aged 3-11) HK$180
Aged under 3 FREE

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Where to Buy Your Ticket?

1. Sea World Main Entrance

2. Sea World Online Ticketing System
* Visitors can collect the ticket from 9.00 am onwards at
the gate, or print out the tickets themselves.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Summer is coming!

Why not visit our annual Summer Splash and

join us for a fun-filled day?

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

in
Sea World was officially opened (1) __________ 1980. Much of
the park’s construction costs were covered by funding from the
Between 1986 (3) _________
Community Fund. (2) ___________ and 1988,
the Fund provided a further $240 million to expand the park.

INFORMATION
INFORMATION P.101
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

At
(4) __________ present, Sea World is widely regarded as one of
over
the world’s must-see tourist attractions. Every year, (5) ________
to
10 million visitors flock (6) __________ Sea World for a variety
of rides and attractions and to see the sea animals up close. (7)
In
_________ 2013, Sea World received the 2013 Applause Award
from IATP.

INFORMATION
INFORMATION P.101
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

from
Sea World opens (8) __________ to
10.30 am (9) ________ 7 pm
on
(10) __________ At
weekdays. (11) _________ the weekend, it is
earlier . Visitors should note that the
open an hour (12) __________
at
Penguin Pavilion closes (13) __________ on
six o’clock (14) ______
weekdays. Admission is $360 for visitors aged 12 and above and
$180 for children between the ages of 3 and 11. Free admission is

INFORMATION
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

granted to children under 3 years old. Tickets are available

at
(15) _________ through
the main entrance of Sea World, or (16) ________
the Sea World online ticketing system.

INFORMATION
INFORMATION P.101
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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Fill in each blank with one suitable word. The first one has
been done for you as an example.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

on
Sitting (1) __________ at
a secluded bench (2) __________ the end
for
of the corridor, Gary, (3) __________ the first time in his life,
were
feels as if his heart (4) __________ apart .
going to tear (5) _________
In
(6) __________ a few hours, he will be leaving Hamburg for
good.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

on
The clock (7) __________ at/in
the wall (8) __________ Hamburg
airport now reads 9.12 pm – just another two hours to go (9)
before his flight (10) _________
__________ departs . Still, he refuses to give
up.
From to/until
(11) __________ 5 pm (12) _________ 9 pm, he spent most of the
to on
time trying (13) _________ reach Samantha (14) _________ the
phone, but he has had no luck.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

On
Gary sighs, thinking back. (15) __________ Monday he had tried
answer the phone.
to call her all day, but she did not (16) __________
had
Earlier today, he (17) _________ for
waited for her (18) _________
at
four hours (19) __________ the front gate of her house before he
for/to the airport. Unfortunately, she never
headed (20) _________
at
showed up (21) _________ the door.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Finally, it is the final boarding call. Gary sighs again and is ready
to board the plane. Just when he is walking (22) towards/to
__________
the boarding gate, his mobile phone rings. Gary flashes a smile
and answers the phone.

‘Hi, Samantha,’ he says.

(Note: accept all reasonable answers)

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Fill in each blank with one suitable word which best

completes the structure. The first one has been done for you.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

Rachel dragged her bulging luggage (1) the to

(1) ____________

check-in counter (2) Denpasar airport, nervous at/in

(2) ____________

that customs would discover the pirated DVDs

she was taking back to Australia.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

But the airline staff did not (3) an eyebrow: she raise
(3) ____________

was just another tourist taking advantage of

Hollywood hits selling for less than a bag of
popcorn. ‘They’re a bargain,’ Rachel had told
her friends. ‘I don’t see what’s wrong (4) that.’ with
(4) ____________

Back in town, the shop where Rachel had

bought the illegal copies was doing a lively
trade. ‘Business is good,’ said the manager.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time

The Indonesian government, (5) to win back ____________

(5) keen/hoping/
trying/desperate
international investors’ confidence, is showing /eager
increased (6) to tackle this contentious issue. effort/
(6) ____________
determination
Raids on illegal DVD factories have increased
and (7) 12 January this year, customs officers at on
(7) ____________

Jakarta’s main port seized 730,000 pirated

PlayStation games.

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Unit 10 Prepositions of time
fighting/
‘They appear to be getting serious about (8) (8) ____________
combating/
addressing/
intellectual piracy,’ said Mike Ellis, regional tackling

director of the Motion Picture Association, (9) a in

(9) ____________

recent interview. Members of the association

in
lost US$900 million (10) the Asia-Pacific region (10) ____________
last year due to piracy, he noted.

(Note: accept all reasonable answers)

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