6 Minute Vocabulary - Time Expressions with in, on and at

Sep 28, 2026

6 Minute Vocabulary explains how to use the English time expressions in, on, and at through everyday conversations and short listening clips. It covers using at for specific clock times and particular points in the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, noon, midnight), and for special days like Easter and New Year. It shows on for days of the week and specific dates (Monday, 3rd May, Christmas Day) and contrasts general periods. It also teaches in for parts of the day, seasons, and months/years, then finishes with a gap-fill quiz.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Time expressions with in, on and at

at (times and specific points; special days)

on (days of the week; dates; special days)

in (parts of the day; seasons; months/years)

Recap and quiz

Neil Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary. I'm Neil… Catherine A very smart Neil…And I'm Catherine. Why are you wearing a suit, Neil? You're looking very smart for work. Neil Yes you're right, I am wearing a suit because I'm going to a wedding at one o'clock … Catherine Very good! I love weddings. Neil I love weddings too. I'm going to another one on Saturday! Catherine Fantastic Neil. And at and on are two of the words we're discussing in today's programme… Neil Yes, because…we're talking about time expressions with in, on and at. Catherine We'll explain why we say at one o'clock but on Saturday. Neil We'll give you lots of examples… Catherine Let's start by listening to Mike and Rob. They are trying to find a time to meet up. Neil Think about this question while you listen: what time can Rob meet Mike? INSERT Mike How about lunch on Monday, Rob? Rob Well…I've got a meeting at 11.30. Mike OK, are you free on Tuesday? Rob Hmm…the engineer's coming at lunchtime. The washing machine's flooded again! It happened at Easter, too. Mike Well, what are you doing in the afternoon? Rob Sorry- I'm playing football. Mike Ok-perhaps we could meet in the pub on Saturday evening? Rob We've got guests at the weekend. How about this afternoon at two thirty? Catherine So, we asked you: What time can Rob meet Mike? Neil And the answer is: at two thirty. Catherine When we say a particular time on the clock, we use at. Neil So, we say at two thirty …at three o'clock. Catherine We also use at in other time expressions. Listen out for them in this clip. INSERT CLIP 1 Mike How about lunch on Monday, Rob? Rob Well…I've got a meeting at 11.30. Mike OK, are you free on Tuesday? Rob Hmm…the engineer's coming at lunchtime. The washing machine's flooded again! It happened at Easter, too. Catherine So Rob had a meeting at 11.30. It's at because it's a time. Neil That's right. We also heard at lunchtime. We use at with particular points during the day, like mealtimes so it's at breakfast, at lunch, at dinner. Catherine …and also we say... at noon…at midnight. Neil Now Rob said his washing machine flooded at Easter. We use at to talk about a special day or group of days. So, it's at Easter, at New Year. Catherine At Christmas. So that's at. Let's look at on. We use on with days of the week. So…on Monday, on Tuesday. Neil We also use on with specific dates…on the third of May, on June the 20th. Catherine …and we use on with specific days: on Christmas Day, on Easter Sunday, on my birthday. Neil That's right. But remember it's at Easter, at Christmas when we are referring to the general time period. Catherine Let's listen to another clip with more time expressions. Listen out for the time expression with in. INSERT CLIP 2 Mike Well, what are you doing in the afternoon? Rob Sorry-I'm playing football. Mike Ok-perhaps we could meet in the pub on Saturday evening? Rob We've got guests at the weekend. How about this afternoon at two thirty? Neil So we had in the afternoon. We use in with parts of the day, so it's in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. Catherine But did you notice that it's on Saturday morning. If we use a day of the week plus morning, afternoon or evening, we use on. Neil We also use in with seasons, so it's in spring, in the winter. Catherine We use in with months and years, so it's in June, in 1996. Neil Notice also that Rob said at the weekend. Catherine Rob speaks British English so he used at the weekend. Some other speakers will say on the weekend. It's perfectly fine. IDENT 6 Minute Vocabulary from the BBC. Catherine And we're talking about time expressions with in, on and at. Neil So, to recap, we use on with days of the week, dates and special days. Catherine We use at with times and particular points in the day. Nei

FAQs

When do you use in for time expressions?

Use in with parts of the day (in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening), and with seasons (in spring, in the winter). Use in with months and years (in June, in 1996).

Sep 28, 2026

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