Let’s continue our full-dress review of English preposition usage.
PREPOSITIONS OF TIME AND DURATION: IMAGE CREDIT: REALLIFEGLOBAL.COMThe prepositions “on,” “at,” “in,” and “after.” “On” is used with the days of the week: “We are going out
on Monday (
on Tuesday,
on Sunday).”
“On” is used for specific dates (optional in informal usage): “The trade fair will start
on May 11, 2019 (
on May 11,
on the 11th of May,
on the 11th].”
“At” is used with clocked time: “She picks her son from school
at 4:30 p.m.”
“At” is used with specific times of the day: “noon,” “night,” “midnight,” “sunrise,” “sunset”: “We sail for Palawan
at noon (
at midnight,
at sunrise).”
“At” is used with major holidays (without the word “Day”) as points of time: “The family gets together
at Thanksgiving (
at Christmas,
at Easter,
at Halloween).”
“In” is used with these times of the day: “morning,” “afternoon,” “evening”: “She waters her roses
in the morning (
in the afternoon,
in the evening).”
“In” is used with dates that don’t carry the specific day: “The Spanish explorer reached the Philippines
in March 1521.”
“In” is used with months, years, decades, and centuries as points of time: “The famous writer was born
in April (
in 1946,
in the 1940s,
in the 20th century).”
“In” is used with the seasons as points of time: “He promised not to leave her
in autumn (
in summer,
in spring,
in winter).”
“After” is used with events that happen later than another event or point of time: “The overseas worker came home
after five years.”
IMAGE CREDIT: 7ESL.COMThe prepositions for periods or extended time: “since,” “for,” “by,” “from...to,” “from...until,” “during,” “within,” “between,” and “beyond.”“Since” is used with an event that happens at some time or continuously after another time or event: “She has not watched a movie
since last month.” “They have been producing noodles
since the war.”
“For” is used with particular durations: “Our president will be abroad
for three weeks (not
for long,
for most of next month).”
“By” is used with an act completed or to be completed by a certain time: “She expects to finish writing the book
by April (
by then,
by the second quarter).”
“From...to” is used to refer to the beginning and end of an activity or event: “The weather was stormy
from Wednesday
to Friday.”
“From...until” is used to refer to the beginning of one period to the beginning of another: “Our sales rose continuously
from Christmas until right
before Holy Week.”
“During” is used to refer to a period of time in which an event happens or an activity is done: “She had coffee
during the morning break.”
“Between” is used to refer to an action taking place between the beginning and end of a period: “You must get the job done
between now and Friday.”
“Within” is used to refer to an action that must take place or be completed within a given period: “You must get the job done
within the week.”
“Beyond” is used to refer to a period of time after a particular event has taken place or a particular time has elapsed: “
Beyond the mid-1990s all of our offices had shifted to word processors.”
The preposition “in” for specific time frames: “In” is used with the three basic time frames: “past,” “present,” “future”: “He was a kindly man
in the past.” “She is doing nothing
in the present (“...at present” is currently the preferred usage).” “
In the future, change the oil of your car regularly.”
“In” is used with prescribed time periods: “The project must be completed in a month (
in a year,
in five years).”
This completes our review of the English prepositions of establishing relationships in space (place and location), of motion and direction, and of time and duration.
(Next:
Prepositions at work in prepositional phrases) April 18, 2019
This essay, 1,139th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the April 11, 2019 print edition of The Manila Times, © 2019 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.THE FORUM'S 5-PART PREPOSITION SERIES IN FULL:1. A full-dress review of English preposition usage – 1 (Place and Location) 2. A full-dress review of English preposition usage – 2 (Motion and Direction) 3. A full-dress review of English preposition usage – 3 (Time and Duration) THIS POSTING4. Prepositions at work in literal prepositional phrases5. Prepositions at work in prepositional idioms
