Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing. I'm your host Gavin and this is InTense Episode 30. Well guys in this episode we will be quickly looking at something useful, prepositions of time and specifically the 3 words “at on and in.” And I'm going to do them in that order, because basically we start small and work big in this instance.
So we start with “at” which we use for a specific time, then we use “on” which we use for day or date and then we use “in” which is for the big things, in a month, in a year. So for example “at 10:00 AM,” “on Friday” and then “in 10 years” or “in 2020.” So it is very simple, you start small and you go big. When you start with time and it can be a specific time like “at 10:00 AM,” “at 10:00 PM.” It can also be a certain thing like noon, noon is “at 12” so “at noon, at midday.” So those we use “ at 4” with “ on” we use usually for day or date, “on my birthday, on January the 3rd, on the 3rd of January, on Friday, on Saturdays.” “I do not enjoy working on December 25th.” or “on Christmas Day, on Christmas.” So the last one is of course the big one which is ”in.” So “in December, in 2022, in the 1970s, in the 21st century, in the next decade, in the Bronze Age.” So this is the big one, so it starts more with, at a specific time, on a day or a date and then in for the big things. OK, so let's get started with our examples!
Drill Sentences:
Did Jane have a meeting at 11:00 PM? Yes, she had a meeting at 11:00 PM.
Did Jane have a meeting at 11:00 PM? No, she did not have a meeting at 11:00 PM.
Is the conference on Tuesday? Yes, it is on Tuesday.
Is the conference on Tuesday? No, it is not on Tuesday.
Will the sales target increase in 2020? Yes, it will increase in 2020.
Will the sales target increase in 2020? No, it will not increase in 2020.
Does Peter have lunch at noon? Yes, he has lunch at noon.
Does Peter have lunch at noon? No, he does not have lunch at noon.
Will you meet John and Jane on the 3rd? Yes, I will meet them on the 3rd.
Will you meet John and Jane on the 3rd? No, I will not meet them on the 3rd.
Do you enjoy having a coffee at dawn? Yes, I enjoy having a coffee at dawn.
Do you enjoy having a coffee at dawn? No, I do not enjoy having a coffee at dawn.
Does Mary work on Christmas? Yes, she works on Christmas.
Does Mary work on Christmas? No, she does not work on Christmas.
Is Peter's birthday in January? Yes, his birthday is in January.
Is Peter's birthday in January? No, his birthday is not in January.
Will life be better in the future? Yes, life will be better in the future.
Will life be better in the future? No, life will not be better in the future.
Well that's it guys. I hope that helps you out, you can go online you can search Google for “prepositions of time” and you can find lists, and you can look at those and they will help you figure out how to use it, but as I said it's quite simple, you start small with “at” bigger with “on” and then for the big one you use “it.” I hope you find it useful, keep repeating and catch you next time, bye!