PREPOSITIONS OF TIME - in, on, at, from, to, until, till, during, throughout, since, from, by ...
Hi everybody! My name's Arnel. Today we are going to look at all of these prepositions of time. All
of these prepositions have a different function so it's important you know how to use them correctly.
There's going to be a lot of information in today's lesson so I prepared a test for you
with 18 sentences. Can you please let me know your score in the comments below? Did you get
18 correct out of 18? Or maybe just 12 correct out of 18? Please let me know! And if you would
like the notes to all the information in this lesson you can become my channel member, and you
can download all of these notes immediately. The link to become a member is down below. Let's start!
Today I'm teaching from 9 to 3. From, the start. To, the end. Hotel: Breakfast
is served from Monday to Sunday, from 6 to 9. From, is the start. To, is the
end. The outdoor fun park is closed from October to March. From, the start. To, the end.
You can see from and to is a common combination, you'll see it everywhere.
We can also use: until or till, here. From 9 until 3. From 9 till 3 - same thing. But in
this combination here, to is the more common preposition. From, to. Okay, I want to look at
until, and till in a bit more detail. Until and till are the same thing, but till is considered
less formal. We have the to, until combination. But many times until is used without, to. Until
means the action stops the end. I'm working until 5 - I stop working at
5. We are staying here until Saturday. On Saturday, staying in this hotel,
stops. The store doesn't open until 10. This is an interesting one.
Doesn't open, this means: the not opening ends at 10. The store doesn't open until 10.
I can also say: the store opens at 10, that's really the same thing. I want you
to think about until as a giant stop sign. Until is a stop sign, it stops the
action. Common mistake: Why haven't you made any IELTS lessons until now? This is a comment I
got from one of you. The thing is, I don't have any IELTS lessons on my channel. So this
comment doesn't really make sense. The person means, why haven't you made any
IELTS lessons? I'm waiting! But this comment means: Finally, you made an IELTS lesson, why
did it take you so long? Okay, we're going to look at until again later in this
lesson. I want to focus on the last two examples with days of
the week and months. We can do this! Breakfast is served Monday through
Sunday. The outdoor fun part Park is closed October through March. So just to confirm,
there are quite a few options from Monday to Sunday. From Monday until Sunday. From
Monday till Sunday. Or, Monday through Sunday. See, this is why everybody hates
prepositions. But just to let you know, there are lots of options and they're all correct.
We have Monday through Sunday. We have October through March. It's clear
the start and the end. But what if I want to speak about the period in the middle?
What do I use? During, during. During this lesson, I'll give you lots of examples.
During my presentation, Tia kept looking at her phone. During school hours, please keep the gates
closed. You can also switch the parts
correct. Mini punctuation tip: If during comes first, put a comma after its object.
If during comes in the middle, no comma is necessary. Okay, let's go back to my
projector. It's really important to remember that during is a preposition so it must be followed
by a noun or noun phrase. Common mistake: During I was driving, I saw Ben. During I was driving?
I was driving isn't a noun. I mean, that's a complete sentence, that's a clause. Remember
you need a noun in this case. I could say: While, while I was driving, I saw Ben. For today's lesson
don't worry about while. Just know during isn't followed by a subject and verb. Okay, here are a
few example sentences. I want you to complete them with your own ideas. Do this in a notebook
or just do this in your head. Maybe you're in your classroom, you can do them with a partner. Pause the
video. Okay, why don't you leave me some of your example sentences in the comments
below? So we have during, here. From the start to the end. We can also use:
Throughout. Is there a difference between during and throughout? Well, many times they are the same.
We know they mean the entire period in the middle from the start, to the end. Bats sleep
during the day and are active at night. Bats sleep throughout the day and are active at night. In this
case they're the same thing, but you'll often see throughout used with longer periods. Throughout
my life, throughout his career, throughout history, throughout the centuries - and you know a century
is 100 years. Throughout the centuries. With during, it can also mean at one specific point, it doesn't
have to mean the entire time. Mark left during the meeting. Was he continuously leaving? No, at
one point during the meeting he left. Do we know specifically when? Nope. During the IELTS listening
test, the fire alarm went off. One time. And go off is a great phrasal verb, it means an alarm
makes a noise. In this case the fire alarm went off. I could say: my roommate's alarm clock goes off
at 5:00 a.m. every morning. You might be thinking, well how do I know when during means the entire
time or at one specific point? Well, usually the context will tell you, the situation will tell you.
So if someone says to you: Ohh, I burped loudly during the business lunch. Here, it's clear, one time. It
was probably pretty embarrassing. And burp is this. Burp, that's a regular verb. Burp, burped, burped.
It's clear in this example the person doesn't mean I burped throughout the business lunch. I
mean... Okay, we have during - something. I'm sure you are sick and tired of me saying during. But we're
not finished with during, during. We have before and after. Please wash your hands before breakfast.
If you need to cough during the meal please cover your mouth. I think I'll order a coffee
after dessert. I filled up my bottle before the morning meeting. I drink a lot during/throughout
the day, I filled up my bottle again after lunch. Common mistake: I waited during 30 minutes. During
30 minutes? We don't use during for a length of time. What does length of time mean? It means how
long: 2 seconds, 5 minutes, 10 hours, 3 weeks, 1 century - that's how long. In this case we need:
for. For plus, how long. I lived in Holland for four years. I do sit-ups for one minute,
then I do burpees for one minute, then I do plank for one minute. I rest for 30 seconds
and then I do it all over again. Yeah, I don't really do these things, but as an example. Free
divers can hold their breath for minutes at a time, it's really impressive. And free divers are
people who go diving without any equipment. They don't have a tank, they don't have a
snorkel. Can you complete these sentences? Pause the video to do
this. And what did you come up with? You can give me some of your examples to practice .Okay,
I have three sentences for you here. Which sentence is not
correct? Right, C. For 3:00. Is 3:00 a length of time? No, 3:00 is 3:00. We don't know how long. In
this case you need, since. Sometimes the best way to learn something is by comparing it to other
things. We need to compare for, from and since. I'm going to start with for versus since. For answers
how long. What's the duration? Since, when did the action or situation start? We can use clock time:
1:45, 6:00, midnight. Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc... Months: January, February, March. Years: 1751, 1999,
2022. Moments: my birthday, this afternoon, your graduation. Let's say now it is the year 2025,
I've lived in this house four five years. I've lived in this house since 2020. Both of the
sentences give you the same information, but "for" tells you how long, and "since" tells you the start.
You've been wearing those jeans for weeks. You've been wearing those jeans since the start of this
month. Again, same information but different grammar. Look at these sentences, choose for or
answers. Okay, for/since done! But let's compare something else, this is a common
question students have: What about since versus from? If you're feeling like this
right now, I get it (sorry). Since: the action started in the past and
only the past. This action can continue to the present or another moment in the
past. There is a really clear connection between the present or another past action
situation. You've been complaining about your headache since Monday,
you should probably see a doctor. You're still complaining. Past to past.
Boarding started at 10:00. Passengers were agitated as they had been waiting since
8:00. From focuses only on time and there is no connection to a present or past situation
that's not important. And with from, we can use it with a variety of different tenses.
We serve breakfast from 6:00. This is present simple. To 9:00 is optional, this only focuses on
the time. We will be offering discounts from next week - future continuous tense. This only
focuses on when something starts. Again, there's no connection to another
action or situation. Mini review: Complete each sentence. Do you need for since or
from? And here are the answers! Remember earlier in
this lesson I said: we're going to look at until again later in this
lesson. Right, we need to look at until again. I want to compare it to, by. Both until and by
mean something ends, so what's the difference? Until, this is when the action ends - it stops. Remember the
stop sign? I'm working until 5:00. I stop working at 5:00. By means, you must complete something before or at
this time. Think about by like a deadline, it's your deadline. We have to finish this report by Friday.
Can we finish the report before Friday? Yeah. On Friday? Yes. After Friday? No, too late. Robbers: let's
wait here until midnight. Midnight is when the waiting ends. Parents: You must be home by midnight.
Can the teenager be home before midnight? Yeah. At midnight? Yeah. After midnight? Too late. The t-shirts
are on sale until the end of the month, the sale ends at the end of the month. The application must
be submitted by Sunday. Before Sunday? Yeah, why not? On Sunday? That works. After Sunday? Sorry, you're too
late. Let's compare: we have to pay until June. We have to pay by June. These are both correct but
they mean slightly different things. We have to pay until June, there's a feeling you have
to continuously pay. The end of May is when the payments stop. We have to pay by June, this is a
onetime payment, anytime before June. Complete this sentence, what do you think? Until lunch, by 3:00. Okay,
how are you feeling? I know there's already been a lot of information but we need to keep going.
Your new bank card should arrive within 48 Hours. Once opened. Once opened, consume within 5 days. And
consume is a formal way to say, eat. Contestants have to eat as many hot dogs as possible within
10 minutes. We use within to give you a time limit. This is your limit, you don't get any more
time. And look at the grammar. With prepositions or anything in English you want to look at everything
surrounding it. We have within, plus length of time, that duration. Let's compare: We sailed for 2 hours -
for gives us the length of time, but that just tells you how long. We sailed for 2 hours. Sailors
have to finish the race within 2 hours, that's their limit. We ate at the buffet for 90 minutes.
That tells you how long. You can eat as much as you want within 90 minutes. In the second example this
is the restaurants rule, you have 90 minutes and then you're done. Other guests will want to use
your table. Okay, we are finally here. In, on, at. The classic prepositions of time. These are usually
the ones you learn first. Some of you know I made a lesson, prepositions of place. I used an in, on,
at pyramid. We're going to do the same thing with time. Here's a mini review of prepositions of place.
Remember, in is for big locations like countries and cities. On is a bit smaller, for things like
streets. And at is the smallest, for things like addresses. We can apply this big to small concept
with time. In big periods, long periods, months. In January. In May. My birthday is in February. Years:
In 2020. In 1995. My son was born in 2014. Decades: In the 1990s. In the 2000s. I wonder what the US
was like in the 1920s? Centuries: In the 21st century. In the 18th century Queen Elizabeth
the ruled England. In the 16th century. Seasons: In the summer. In the winter. I feel more productive
in summer. Yes, the, is optional. Parts of the day: In the morning. In the afternoon. In the
evening. My English classes are in the afternoon. What about night? Night is an exception, I'll
discuss that one later, let's put a pin in it... Never mind, let's do it now. We can say: at night, or in the
night, but there is a difference. At night refers to the general period, the time it's dark, when
people are sleeping. It has the same feeling as: in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the
evening. So I could say: my baby sleeps well in the morning, in the afternoon in the evening, at
night. My work shift is always in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, or at night.
Same grammar. In the night means: during the night, something happens. That's what we're emphasizing. I
heard something moving under my bed in the night. This means: during the night, something happened.
It got really cold in the night and I had to get an extra blanket. But sometimes people might use: at
night, here. But just remember there is a difference, you don't want to use: in the night, in these
sentences. On, now the periods get shorter. Days of the week: On Monday. On Tuesday. My live
YouTube lessons are on Wednesdays. We also say: On the weekend, because the weekend is
Saturday and Sunday. But here's a small American English and British English difference. Americans
usually use, on the weekend. And speakers of British English usually use, at the weekend.
I do most of my housework on the weekend. I do most of my housework at the weekend. But
they're the same, you can choose. Specific dates: On October 4th. On January 25th. See
you on the 20th. Special days: On my birthday. On Christmas Day. On New Year's Day.
We're going to a restaurant on Valentine's Day. At. Now we're at the shortest part. Clock times:
At 5:00 p.m. At 2:00 in the morning. I usually eat lunch at noon. Meal times: At lunch, or lunchtime. At
dinner, or dinner time. You didn't eat much at breakfast. I can't believe I have to sit next
to Dan at dinner. You might hear: in, on, at with other periods. But if you learn the rules here
you're good to go. Complete these sentences to practice. Uhh, so much information. Yes, I know it's
been a lot. But if you want all these notes so you can study them later, you can have them on paper,
become a channel member, and you can download all of these. I even give you space to write
your own example sentences. I think it's time for a test. Test time! I want you to choose the correct
preposition for each sentence. In some sentences both prepositions might be grammatically correct
but you really want to choose a more logical option. Which preposition fits best? Pause the
video. How did you do? Remember, leave me your score in the comments below,
I really love seeing that people have taken the test - it makes me really happy!
So I hope this lesson helped you, thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time! Bye!!!