Learn how to use the prepositions "at," "on," and "in" (time)
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Talking About the Biggest Sporting Event in the United States. John Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn the prepositions “at,” “on” and “in”, in relation to time. The conversation takes place at home. |
| Becky: It's between Kate and Sean. |
| John: The speakers are friends, so they’ll use informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Kate: Sean, when is the Super Bowl? |
| Sean: It's usually in February, but the date changes. |
| Kate: What date was it in 2015? |
| Sean: It was on February 1st. |
| Kate: What time does it usually start? |
| Sean: It starts at 6.30pm, Eastern time. |
| Kate: Thank you! |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Kate: Sean, when is the Super Bowl? |
| Sean: It's usually in February, but the date changes. |
| Kate: What date was it in 2015? |
| Sean: It was on February 1st. |
| Kate: What time does it usually start? |
| Sean: It starts at 6:30pm, Eastern time. |
| Kate: Thank you! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: In this conversation, Kate was checking the date and time of the Super Bowl. |
| Becky: Maybe she wants to go next year? |
| John: Maybe! It’s important to double-check the date and time if you are invited somewhere. |
| Becky: Yeah, a lot of invitations, especially between friends, are given verbally. |
| John: So the details might not be written down. I usually only get actual invitations for big events like weddings. |
| Becky: Me too. So I always double check the date and time. Also, the meeting place. |
| John: That’s important too! You don’t want to wait in the wrong place. |
| Becky: I’ve waited in the wrong part of the train station before. It was embarrassing! |
| John: I can only imagine! What happened? |
| Becky: Well, I had my smartphone with me, so I double checked the details and then went to the right place. |
| John: Smartphones make things much easier. If I’m having a party, I make a Facebook event and invite my friends that way. |
| Becky: That’s really convenient. I often get invites by text or messenger apps. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Becky: when [natural native speed] |
| John: a question word used to ask about time |
| Becky: when[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: when [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: Super Bowl [natural native speed] |
| John: an annual event that is the championship game in the National Football League (NFL) |
| Becky: Super Bowl[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: Super Bowl [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: usually [natural native speed] |
| John: normally, commonly |
| Becky: usually[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: usually [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: date [natural native speed] |
| John: a day in the calendar |
| Becky: date[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: date [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: to change [natural native speed] |
| John: to alter |
| Becky: to change[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to change [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: February [natural native speed] |
| John: the second month of the year |
| Becky: February[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: February [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: first [natural native speed] |
| John: ordinal number for "one" |
| Becky: first[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: first [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: to start [natural native speed] |
| John: to begin something |
| Becky: to start[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to start [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: pm [natural native speed] |
| John: post meridiem - the twelve hour period that is after 12 in the afternoon and before midnight |
| Becky: pm[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: pm [natural native speed] |
| John: And last.. |
| Becky: eastern [natural native speed] |
| John: situated in the east - one of the time zones that is used in America. |
| Becky: eastern[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: eastern [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Becky: usually |
| John: meaning "normally,” “commonly" |
| John: What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: This is an adverb of frequency. It tells us how often something happens. |
| John: We can use “usually” to describe something we do often, but not 100% of the time. |
| Becky: Yes, it’s more like 90% of the time. |
| John: How do you use it in a sentence? |
| Becky: You should put it before the verb, for example “usually plays baseball.” |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “He usually exercises after finishing work.” |
| John: ...in other words, "He normally exercises after finishing work." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: first |
| John: which is the "ordinal number for ‘one.’" |
| John: What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: It’s an ordinal number, so you use it for dates, and for order. |
| John: So if you win a race, you are first. |
| Becky: That’s right. Ordinal numbers in English follow a pattern of adding “-th” to the number. |
| John: Like “fourth,” “eighth,” “thirteenth,” and so on. |
| Becky: But a few numbers like “one” have special ordinal numbers, so be careful. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “My birthday is on October 1st.” |
| John: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Becky: Eastern time |
| John: which is "a time zone in the US" |
| John: What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: “Eastern” comes from the direction “east,” and means things that are to the east. |
| John: And “time”? |
| Becky: “Time” is a measure in hours and minutes. So “Eastern time” means the time zone that the east coast of the US follows. |
| John: Right, the US is a big country so different parts have different time zones. |
| Becky: If you see TV shows advertised, you might see different start times listed and that’s why. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “Do you know what time that is in Eastern Time?” |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the prepositions “at,” “on” and “in,” in relation to time. |
| John: For this lesson, we will look at three prepositions that are easily confused. |
| Becky: Yes, they get mixed up all the time. The good news is that their use is pretty simple. You just have to remember it. |
| John: Remembering is the hard part, though. |
| Becky: I’m sure you can do it, John! |
| John: Thank you. The first preposition is “at.” |
| Becky: We use “at” to talk about time. If we want to say when something will happen and use a time, we need “at.” |
| John: So we say “at 3 o’clock” or “at 5:30.” |
| Becky: That’s right. “At” goes before the time. |
| John: How do we make a sentence using this? |
| Becky: The usual way is to say what will happen, followed by “at” and the time. |
| John: “I wake up at 7 o’clock.” |
| Becky: That’s it. Another example is “The accident occurred at midnight last night and police are looking for witnesses.” |
| John: That sentence was more difficult, but the grammar was the same - “at midnight.” |
| Becky: Right. It stays the same, even if the sentence is easy or difficult. |
| John: Our next preposition is “on.” |
| Becky: We use “on” for days of the week. “On Monday.” “on Wednesday”… like that. |
| John: “I didn’t study on Wednesday.” |
| Becky: Well, your sentence is right but you should study every day! |
| John: I know, I know. The last preposition for this lesson is “in.” |
| Becky: We use “in” for months of the year. For example, “in February,” “in December,” for example. |
| John: “I went to Australia in September.” |
| Becky: Lucky you! We also use “in” for time periods, such as “in the morning” or “in the evening.” |
| John: “Although I’m always tired, I always read to my children in the evening.” |
| Becky: Or “My birthday is in April”. |
| John: So to sum up, we use “at” for time, “on” for days and “in” for months and time periods. |
| Becky: Listeners, make sure to check the Lesson Notes PDF for more examples and additional information about the prepositions covered in this lesson. |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Becky: Bye! |
Comments
Hide