Reference · module 4
Days and times
Everything this module explains, on one page.
The week
Name any day and say what you do on it.
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Wednesday is the trap: it is spelled with a d nobody pronounces.
- Days take on: on Monday, on Friday. And in English every day of the week is written with a capital letter, always.
- For a habit, add an s: I work on Mondays means every Monday. One letter turns a single day into a routine.
The mistake you are about to make
on monday
on Monday
Most languages keep weekdays lowercase. English capitalises them, along with the months, the languages and the nationalities.
Telling the time
Ask the time and understand the answer.
- What time is it? or What's the time? Both are used and neither is more polite than the other.
- Up to half past, English counts past the hour: ten past three. After half past, it counts to the next: twenty to four.
- A clock time takes at: at seven, at half past six. And the simple version — six thirty, seven fifteen — is always available and always understood.
The mistake you are about to make
half past three = 2:30
half past three = 3:30
Several languages count the half towards the hour that is coming, which lands an hour early. English counts from the hour that has already passed.
in, on, at
Pick the right preposition for any piece of time.
- Think of it as three sizes. in for the big ones: in May, in 2026, in the morning. on for a single day: on Monday, on 5 May.
- at for a point: at six o'clock, at night, at the weekend. The picture is a period, then a day, then a moment.
- Two exceptions worth knowing: at night, not in the night. And at the weekend in Britain, on the weekend in America.
The mistake you are about to make
in Monday
on Monday
One preposition covers month, day and hour in many languages. English splits them by size: in for a period, on for a day, at for a point in time.
Months and dates
Say a date out loud and write one down.
- January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. Capital letters again, every one of them.
- Dates are said with ordinals: the fifth of May, or May the fifth. first, second, third, then fourth and -th all the way to twentieth.
- Written order differs. 5/3 is 5 March in Britain and 3 May in America, which is why writing the month as a word is safer.
The mistake you are about to make
at 5 May
on 5 May
A date is a day, and days take on: on 5 May. At belongs to a time on the clock, in to the whole month.