How to Talk About Time in English - Time Prepositions and Phrases
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn how to talk about time in English.
Youβll learn how to use prepositions, conjunctions and other useful words and phrases to talk
If youβre watching on YouTube, donβt forget to check out the full version of this lesson
on our website: Oxford Online English dot com.
The full lesson contains the script and a quiz to help you practice what youβve learned.
Go to Oxford Online English dot com and try it!
The things youβll learn in this lesson will help you in many situations: telling stories,
saying when things happen, talking about the future, describing how long something lasted,
Letβs start with one of the most basic ways to talk about time.
How many times have you asked me that?
No, itβs definitely in December, on the 23rd.
Her birthday was on a Saturday last year, and this year the 23rd is a Wednesday.
Youβre thinking of her birthday *party.* She had it on the weekend before her birthday.
Our car broke down and we got there at eleven.
And then we had to stay the night there because we couldnβt drive back.
Then, in the morning, remember that we had to try to call a tow truck, and we couldnβt
What time did we get home in the end?
Five?
Six?
It was in the evening, but not too late.
Was that the second time we went?
The first was in 2015, we were away in 2016, and then we went in 2017 and 2018.
So, if we go this year, itβll be the fourth time.
Yeah, sheβs having her party on the Friday before her birthday.
In the dialogue, you heard many examples of using βatβ, βonβ and βinβ to talk
Do you know any rules about using βatβ, βonβ and βinβ to talk about time?
Use βinβ for months and years.
For example: βin Decemberβ, βin Januaryβ, βin 2016β or βin 1999.β
You can also use βinβ for parts of the day: βin the morning,β βin the afternoonβ,
or βin the eveningβ.
Use βonβ with days and dates.
For example: βon Saturdayβ, βon Fridayβ, βon the 3rdβ, or βon the 20th of Novemberβ.
For example: βat six oβclockβ, βat five thirtyβ, or βat twelve forty-fiveβ.
There are a few exceptions and flexible cases.
In British English, you say: βat the weekendβ and βat Christmasβ, but in American English,
you say βon the weekendβ and βon Christmasβ.
Also, although you say βin the morningβ, βin the afternoonβ and βin the eveningβ,
Weβre going to ask you four questions.
After each question, pause the video and answer with a full sentence.
What time did you get up this morning?
Whenβs the last time you went on vacation?
Could you answer all the questions?
Of course, there are many possible answers, but here are some suggestions.
You could say, βMy birthdayβs on the eighth of June.β
You could say, βI got up at half past seven.'
You could say, βThe last time I went on vacation was in May.β
You could say, βMy next day off is on Saturday.β
Could you answer all the questions?
Remember that you can go back and review this section if you need to!
Letβs move on to our next point.
The networkβs not working again.
Iβve spent the whole morning dealing with this.
Have you called the IT department?
They told me itβd be fixed in an hour, but it wasnβt.
I called again and they promised that itβd be done by midday at the latest, but now itβs
nearly two and so far nothing seems to have happened.
Well, Iβm sure itβll be fixed in the next few hours.
Canβt you do some other work in the meantime?
I need the image files, which are in a shared folder.
I promised my client this would be done by the end of today.
Now Iβm going to look bad because we canβt make our computer systems work.
You should take this more seriously, you know.
I am taking it seriously, but we donβt have these problems all the time.
Until recently, everything worked pretty well, right?
Weβve had at least five days this month when things werenβt available for an hour
In the long run, that lost time adds up.
I agree; itβs not ideal, but look: in the short term, thereβs not much I can do.
Iβll talk to the IT department and try to move things along.
I can also call your client to explain the situation and apologise, if you like.
OK, so weβll talk in an hour and Iβll give you an update.
Sure.
In this section, youβre going to learn how to use the prepositions βinβ, βbyβ,
In this dialogue, you saw a different way to use βinβ.
Do you remember what you heard?
You heard: βThey told me itβd be fixed in an hourβ, and βWeβll talk in an hour.β
You can use βinβ plus a time period to say when something will happen.
Itβs most often used to talk about the future, although you might use it in the past if youβre
talking about what someone said.
For example, βWeβll arrive in three days.β
This means that weβll arrive three days from now.
If today is Tuesday, I mean weβll arrive on Friday.
Hereβs another example: βYour car will be ready in 30 minutes.β
That means, if itβs one oβclock now, your car will be ready at one-thirty.
There are also phrases with βinβ, like βin the short termβ, or βin the long
runβ.
βIn the short termβ means youβre talking about the near future.
βIn the long runβ has the opposite meaning: youβre talking about the distant future.
For example: βIn the short term, he needs to focus on getting out of debt.β
This means that in the near future, paying off his debt should be his priority.
Next, letβs think about βbyβ and βuntilβ.
Do you know the difference between these two prepositions?
Look at two sentences: βSheβll be here by Friday.β
βSheβll be here until Fridayβ.
Whatβs the difference?
βBy Fridayβ means βany time before Fridayβ.
If you say, βSheβll be here by Fridayβ, you mean that sheβs not here now, and sheβll
arrive some time between now and Friday.
You donβt know exactly when sheβll arrive, but youβre sure that she wonβt arrive
βUntil Fridayβ means βcontinuously from now up to Fridayβ.
If you say, βSheβll be here until Fridayβ, you mean that sheβs here now, but sheβll
So, the two sentences have very different meanings.
Does your language have different words for βbyβ and βuntilβ with these meanings?
Some languages use one preposition for both meanings; if this is the case in your language,
youβll need to be careful using βbyβ and βuntilβ in English!
Pause the video if you need more thinking time.
If not, remember that you can review each section as many times as you need to.
Werenβt you meeting her at the airport?
Uhhβ¦
I was waiting for her in the arrivals hall, but I needed the toilet.
I guess while I was in there, she came out, didnβt see me and went outside.
Anyway, I went back and waited for a while.
Then, I realised that she must have arrived already, so I went outside to look for her.
You wonβt believe it: as I was going down in the elevator, she was going up in the elevator
on the other side, trying to find me.
She called me later; weβll get to that.
So, I looked around for her near the train station, but I couldnβt see her.
Just as I was going to go back to arrivals, she called me.
And?
The signal was really bad, so I couldnβt really hear her.
I ran outside to get a better signal, and at the exact moment I got out of the doors,
So I went back up to arrivals, but it turns out she was going down at the same time, so
I wasnβt laughing at the time.
I figured that sheβd catch the train into the city, so I decided to just go to her hotel
No, but I did find somewhere to charge my phone, so I called her.
She said sheβd take the train into the centre, so sheβll call me as soon as she arrives.
I hope she doesnβt fall asleep during the journey and miss her stopβ¦
Look at two sentences you heard in the dialogue.
Hereβs a question: whatβs the difference between βduringβ and βwhileβ?
Both words are used to say *when* something happened.
Specifically, you use them to talk about two things which happened at the same time, or
something that happened in the middle of something else.
However, theyβre used in different ways.
After βduringβ, use a noun.
For example, βMy phone rang during the filmβ; βDuring my presentation, there was a power
cutβ; βI met my husband during my trip to Corsica.β
After βwhileβ, use a clause; that means you use a subject and a verb.
For example, βI wasnβt paying attention while he was explaining what to doβ;
βWhile Iβm out, can you tidy up the living room?'
βI like listening to music while Iβm working.β
You can also use βatβ to talk about things which happened at the same time.
For example: βAt the exact moment I got out of the doors, my battery died;β
βI went back up to arrivals, but it turns out she was going down at the same time.β
You could use these in different ways; for example, βAt the exact moment the train
left, I saw her running into the stationβ.
βYou canβt study and watch TV at the same time.β
Finally, you can use βasβ to talk about the moment when something happened.
In the dialogue, you heard these.
βAsβ means βat the moment whenβ.
So, the first sentence means that at the moment when I was going down in the elevator, she
was going up in the other elevator.
βJust asβ has the same meaning, but itβs more emphatic.
Use βjust asβ to mean that two things happened at *exactly* the same time.
βAs soon asβ also has the same meaning, but itβs used to talk about the future.
You use it to say that two things *will* happen at the same time.
You can make more examples with this language, like this: βAs I was walking down the street,
I heard thunder in the distanceβ; βI got to the airport just as they closed
the gate for my flightβ; βWeβll leave as soon as youβre ready.'
So, in this section, you saw how to use βduringβ, βwhileβ, βatβ and βasβ to talk
about things which happen at the same time.
Note that βduringβ and βatβ are prepositions here, whereas βwhileβ and βasβ are
Letβs look at one more thing.
Can we stop for something to eat?
I didnβt have lunch and Iβm starving!
Iβve been waiting for you for ages!
Weβre already going to be late.
I think we should go straight there.
Come on, it wonβt take long.
You always say that, and then you take forever.
Well, hey, you shouldβve been on time.
Itβs not my fault youβre always lateβ¦
Iβm really punctual these days.
This is the first time Iβve been late for a while.
Every time I met you over the summer, you were at least half an hour late.
Yes, but since then, Iβve been mostly on time, right?
During the last few weeks, Iβve really been trying to be on time.
I know itβs a bad habit to turn up late everywhere, but itβs a tough habit to breakβ¦
Anyway, I donβt want to be even later than we already are.
Everyone will be wondering whatβs happened.
Letβs just go, and you can get some food there.
But I havenβt eaten anything since this morning!
Just stop at a shop and let me buy a snack or something.
Itβll take less than five minutes, I promise.
If you want to describe how long something continued, what can you use?
Can you remember any of the examples you heard in the dialogue?
Often, to describe a period of time, you use the preposition βforβ.
For example, βIβve been waiting for you for agesβ.
You can use this in many different ways in the past, present and future; for example,
βIβve worked here for 10 yearsβ; βIβll be staying here for six weeksβ;
βShe lived in Paris for several months.β
There are also many common phrases with βforβ, like βfor agesβ or βfor a whileβ.
βFor agesβ means for a long time; βfor a whileβ means for some time.
βA whileβ means a time period which is not very short and not very long.
Itβs not very specific, but itβs useful and common in spoken English.
Hereβs a question: can you complete the missing verb in this sentence?
The missing verb is βtakeβ.
You can use βtakeβ to say how long something will continue.
In the dialogue, you also heard, βIt wonβt take longβ;
βItβll take less than five minutes, I promise.β
You can use βtakeβ in many different situations.
For example, βHow long does it take you to get to work?β;
βGetting to the airport takes about 45 minutes if the trafficβs not too bad.β
If you want to talk about something which happened within a longer period of time, you can use
βoverβ.
In the dialogue, you heard, βEvery time I met you over the summer, you were at least
half an hour lateβ; βOver the last few weeks, Iβve been really
βOverβ has a similar meaning to βduringβ, but itβs more conversational, and you use
it only with longer time periods.
You might also see the phrase βover timeβ, which means βgradually.β
For example, βOver time, cars are getting more efficient, and therefore cheaper to run.β
This is a big topic, and thereβs a lot we werenβt able to fit into this video!
Are there other time prepositions or phrases youβd like to know more about?