English · Chapter 6 · Lesson 21 · Themed review
Days and times
Words for when something happens. Some name a length of time, some name a point in it.
Practise this lesson
20-word session
A quick mix of exercises - recognise, recall, type and build each word. Miss one and it comes back round until it sticks.
Worth knowing
at, in and on: three small words for saying when
English needs a small word before most times. Which one you use depends on how big the time is.
for a clock time: at six o'clock, at midnight for a day or a date: on Monday, on 5 May for a longer time: in May, in 2026, in the morning
Think of it as getting bigger. A point in the day is at. A whole day is on. Anything longer is in.
The exceptions are few
Say , not in night. This is strange, because you say in the morning and in the evening. Night is the only one that is different, and you simply have to remember it.
Say in British English. American English says on the weekend. Both are correct in their own country.
No word before today
Some time words take no small word at all:
- I saw her . (not on today)
- We leave .
- He came .
- She starts .
Today, tomorrow, yesterday, last and next never take at, in or on. This is a common mistake and an easy one to fix.
last night
There is no word yesterday night in English. The correct phrase is .
But yesterday morning and yesterday evening are both fine. Only the night is different.
early, late, soon
and describe a time. describes a short wait from now.
- The train was late.
- I will see you soon.
Words in this theme
day/deɪ/A period of 24 hours, or the time when it is light outside.
week/wiːk/A period of seven days, usually counted from Monday to Sunday.
month/mʌnθ/One of the twelve parts that a year is divided into.
year/jɪə/A time of twelve months, or 365 days.
hour/ˈaʊə/A length of time equal to sixty minutes.
minute/ˈmɪnɪt/A part of an hour; there are sixty minutes in one hour.
second/ˈsekənd/Coming after the first one; also a very short piece of time, sixty of which make one minute.
moment/ˈməʊmənt/A very short period of time.
morning/ˈmɔːnɪŋ/The early part of the day, from when the sun comes up until the middle of the day.
evening/ˈiːv.nɪŋ/The part of the day at the end of the afternoon, before night.
night/naɪt/The dark part of each day, when the sun is down and people sleep.
today/təˈdeɪ/On this day, the day that is happening now.
tomorrow/təˈmɒr.əʊ/On the day after today.
early/ˈɜːli/Happening near the start of a time, or before the usual time.
late/leɪt/Happening after the usual or right time.
soon/suːn/In a short time from now, after only a little while.
always/ˈɔːlweɪz/Every time, at all times, without ever stopping or missing.
never/ˈnevə/At no time, or not at any moment, ever.
date/deɪt/The day, month, and year that something happens, written down as numbers or words.
age/eɪdʒ/How many years a person, animal, or thing has lived or existed.