Collins Cobuild English Grammar (96 page)

In
is also used with some other nouns referring to events and periods of time.

My father was killed
in the war
.
Everyone does unusual jobs
in wartime
.
In winter
, we tend to get up later.
Two people came to check my room
in my absence
.

Ordinals are explained in paragraphs
2.232
to
2.239
.

on
for short periods of time

4.96
    If you want to mention the day when something happens, you use
on
. You can do this with named days, with days referred to by ordinals, and with days referred to by a special term such as
birthday
or
anniversary
.

I’ll send the cheque round
on Monday
.
Everybody went to church
on Christmas Day
.
I hear you have bingo
on Wednesday
.
Pentonville Prison was set up
on Boxing Day
, 1842.
He was born
on 3 April 1925
at 40 Grosvenor Road. …the grey suit Elsa had bought for him
on his birthday
.
Many of Eisenhower’s most cautious commanders were even prepared to risk attack
on the eighth or ninth
. …addressing Parliament
on the 36th anniversary
of his country’s independence.

You can use
the
with named days for emphasis or contrast, and
a
to indicate any day of that name.

He died
on the Friday
and was buried
on the Sunday
.
We get a lot of calls
on a Friday
.

You also use
on
with
morning
,
afternoon
,
evening
, and
night
when they are modified or when they are followed by extra information in the form of a phrase or a clause.

…at 2.30 p.m.
on a calm afternoon
.
There was another important opening
on the same evening
.
Tickets will be available
on the morning of the performance
.
It’s terribly good of you to turn out
on a night like this
.

on
for longer periods of time

4.97
    
On
is also used with words referring to travel such as
journey
,
trip
,
voyage
,
flight
, and
way
to say when something happened.

But
on that journey
, for the first time, Luce’s faith in the eventual outcome was shaken.
Eileen was accompanying her father to visit friends made
on a camping trip
the year before.

on
for subsequent events

4.98
    
On
can be used in a slightly formal way with nouns and
-ing
forms referring to actions or activities to show that one event occurs after another.

I shall bring the remaining seven hundred pounds
on my return
in eleven days.

ordering of time adverbials

4.99
    On the few occasions when people have to specify a time and date exactly, for example in legal English or formal documents, the usual order is: clock time, followed by period of day, day of the week, and date.

…at eight o’clock on the morning of 29 October 1618. …on the night of Thursday July 16.

Non-specific times

approximate times

4.100
  If you want to be less precise about when something happened, you can use a word like
around
or
about
.

At
about
four o’clock in the morning, we were awoken by a noise.
The device that exploded at
around
midnight on Wednesday severely damaged the fourth-floor bar.
The supply of servants continued until
about
1950, then abruptly dried up.
The attack began
shortly before
dawn.

Here is a list of words and expressions that you can use if you want to be less precise about when something happened:

about

almost

around

just after

just before

nearly

round about

shortly after

shortly before

soon after

thereabouts

About
,
almost
,
around
,
nearly
, and
round about
are usually used with clock times or years. With
about
,
around
, and
round about
, the preposition
at
can often be omitted in informal English.

Then quite suddenly,
round about
midday, my mood began to change.
About
nine o’clock he went out to the kitchen.

It is also possible to use prepositions to relate events to less specific points or periods of time, for example when the exact time of an event is not known, or when events happen gradually, continuously, or several times.

He developed central chest pain
during the night
.
For, also
over the summer
, his book had come out.

Here is a list of prepositions that are used to relate events to a non-specific time:

after

before

by

during

following

over

prior to

BE CAREFUL

4.101
  
Almost
or
nearly
can only be used after the verb
be
.

4.102
  You can also use
or thereabouts
after the time adverbial.

Back in 1975
or thereabouts
someone lent me an article about education. …at four o’clock
or thereabouts
.

during
for periods of time

4.103
  
During
can be used instead of
in
with periods of the day, months, seasons, years, decades, and centuries.

We try to keep people informed by post
during September
.
She heated the place
during the winter
with a huge wood furnace.
During 1973
an Anti-Imperialist Alliance was formed.
During the Sixties
various levies were imposed.
During the seventh century
incendiary weapons were invented.
They used to spend the whole Sunday at chapel but most of them behaved shockingly
during the week
.

4.104
  
During
is used with most event nouns to show that one event takes place while another is occurring.

During his stay in prison
, he has written many essays and poems. …trying to boost police morale
during a heated battle with rioters
.
The young princes were protected from press intrusion
during their education
.
Some families live in the kitchen
during a power cut
.
During the journey
I came to like and respect them.

BE CAREFUL

4.105
  
During the week
means on weekdays, in contrast to the weekend.

over
for events

4.106
  
Over
can be used with
winter
,
summer
, and special periods of the year to show that an event occurred throughout the period or at an unspecified time during it.

…to help keep their families going
over the winter
.
My friends had a marvellous time
over the New Year
.

Over
is also used when referring to a period of time immediately before or after the time of speaking or the time being talked about.

The number will increase considerably
over the next decade
.
They have been doing all they can
over the past twenty-four hours
.
We packed up the things I had accumulated
over the last four years
.

Over
can be used with meals and items of food or drink to show that something happens while people are eating or drinking.

Davis said he wanted to read it
over lunch
.
Can we discuss it
over a cup of coffee
?

relating events and times