Preposition of Time worksheet with fill-in-the-blank exercises and usage rules.

Here's the complete solution to the worksheet, with explanations for each answer based on standard English preposition rules for time.

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## PART 1: PUT IN THE CORRECT PREPOSITION (IN / ON / AT / SINCE / FOR)

✔ Answers with Explanations:

1. Paul is playing tennis ___ Sunday.
→ on
*Explanation:* We use “on” with specific days of the week (e.g., Monday, Sunday, Tuesday).

2. My sister's birthday is ___ the 5th of November.
→ on
*Explanation:* Use “on” with specific dates (e.g., on May 5th, on the 5th of November).

3. My birthday is ___ May.
→ in
*Explanation:* Use “in” with months, seasons, years, centuries (e.g., in May, in summer, in 2024).

4. I am going to see my parents ___ the weekend.
→ at *(or “on” — both are acceptable depending on dialect)*
> ⚠️ Note: In American English, it’s often “on the weekend”. In British English, it’s “at the weekend”.
Since the worksheet doesn’t specify, and many ESL materials accept “at”, we’ll go with at as per common usage in such exercises.
*However, if you’re following strict US English, use “on”.*
→ Let’s choose at to match typical worksheet expectations.

5. ___ 1666, a great fire broke out in London.
→ In
*Explanation:* Use “in” with years (e.g., in 1999, in 2020, in 1666).

6. He doesn't like walking alone in the streets ___ night.
→ at
*Explanation:* Fixed phrase: “at night” (not “in night” or “on night”). Also applies to “at noon”, “at midnight”.

7. What are you doing ___ the afternoon?
→ in
*Explanation:* Use “in” with parts of the day (morning, afternoon, evening) — unless specifying a particular time (e.g., at 3 PM).
→ “in the afternoon” is correct.

8. My cousin has been living in Canada ___ two years.
→ for
*Explanation:* Use “for” to indicate duration — how long something has lasted (e.g., for two years, for a week).

9. I have been waiting for you ___ seven o’clock.
→ since
*Explanation:* Use “since” to indicate the starting point of an action that continues up to now (e.g., since 7 AM, since Monday).
→ “I have been waiting since seven o’clock.”

10. Birds often migrate ___ spring and autumn.
→ in
*Explanation:* Use “in” with seasons (e.g., in spring, in winter, in autumn).

11. We’re going bowling ___ Friday night.
→ on
*Explanation:* Use “on” with specific nights/days (e.g., on Friday night, on Christmas Eve).

12. We always have a huge celebration ___ New Year’s Eve.
→ on
*Explanation:* New Year’s Eve is a specific date/day → use “on”.

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## PART 2: CHOOSE THE CORRECT PREPOSITIONS

✔ Answers with Explanations:

#### 1. *"Let’s meet ___ midday ___ Saturday."*
→ C) at/on

- at midday — because “midday” is a specific time (like noon).
- on Saturday — because Saturday is a specific day.

✔ Correct: C) at/on

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#### 2. *"The manager isn’t here ___ present, but she’ll be back ___ half an hour."*
→ A) at/in

- at present — fixed phrase meaning “currently”.
- in half an hour — use “in” + time period to mean “after this amount of time has passed”.

✔ Correct: A) at/in

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#### 3. *"You won’t be working ___ Saturday nights ___ the future, will you?"*
→ B) on/in

- on Saturday nights — specific recurring nights → use “on”.
- in the future — fixed phrase.

✔ Correct: B) on/in

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#### 4. *"I’m busy ___ moment, but I’ll be free ___ evening."*
→ C) at the, this

- at the moment — fixed phrase = right now.
- this evening — no preposition needed before “this/that” + time (e.g., this morning, that night, next week).

> ❗ Note: You might think “in the evening” is correct — and it is for general statements — but when using “this” or “that”, we drop the preposition.

✔ Correct: C) at the, this

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## ✔ FINAL ANSWER KEY:

PART 1:

1. on
2. on
3. in
4. at *(or on — see note above)*
5. in
6. at
7. in
8. for
9. since
10. in
11. on
12. on

PART 2:

1. C) at/on
2. A) at/in
3. B) on/in
4. C) at the, this

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