Prepositions of time

For todays Friday fun tip lets take a look at some prepositions of time commonly used in
English: IN, ON and AT.
Hoje vamos estudar umas preposies de tempo muito comuns em ingls: IN, ON yAT.
Lets look at a quick text and see how we use these prepositions correctly when reading,
speaking or writing.
At 1 o'clock today I am going to my grandparents house for lunch. My grandma told
us to come at noon but Mum said it was too early. We always go there on Sundays
and spend the whole day there. I actually like to spend the night too because
Granddad and I wake up at sunrise and spend the morning walking in the mountains.
Last year on Christmas day Granny prepared the best meal ever for the whole family.
She said that on my birthday this year she would make a big cake and I could invite
my friends.
In summer I normally go visit my grandparents too because they live on a farm and
its much better than the city. Once when I had school holidays in 2012 I stayed with
my grandparents for 2 months. We had great fun!
Hoje eu vou comer em casa dos meus avs s 13:00. Minha av nos pediu ir pelo meiodia, mas minha me disse que era cedo demais. Sempre vamos aos domingos e
passamos o dia todo l. Na verdade, eu tambm gosto de passar a noite l, porque eu e o
av nos levantamos cedo e passamos a manh caminhando pela montanha.
No ano passado, no dia de Natal, minha av preparou a melhor comida do mundo para
toda a famlia. Ela disse que este ano por meu aniversrio faria um bolo enorme e que eu
poderia convidar todos meus amigos.
No vero, tambm costumo visitar meus avs, porque eles vivem em uma fazenda e
muito melhor do que a cidade. Uma vez, nas frias da escola em 2012, fiquei com eles 2
meses. Foi to bom!
Now lets take a look at the rules so we can see how easy it is!
AT

IN

ON

a specific time

months, years,
seasons, decades

days and dates

at 3 o'clock

in May

on Sunday

at 10.30am

in summer

on Tuesdays

at noon

in the summer

on March 6th

at dinnertime

in 1990

on December 25th

at bedtime

in the 90s

on Christmas day

at dawn

in the next century

on New Year's day

at sunrise

in July

on my birthday

Well, Im sure you understand prepositions better now! Remember, if you want to, you can
always refer to unit 21 of the course for more information on how to use these prepositions
correctly.

How to use CAPITALS in English

Today lets look at when and where to use CAPITAL letters in English.
Hoje vamos estudar quando e onde colocar letras maisculas em ingls.
Firstly and very importantly the first person singular subject pronoun I is always
capitalised. Look at a couple of examples:
I have already seen that movie.
Eu ja assisti esse filme.
Jack said that I could go on holiday with him.
O Jack disse que eu poderia ir de frias com ele.
Days of the week, months of the year and important holidays start with capital letters in
English, for example:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Segunda-feira, tera-feira, quarta-feira
January, February, March
Janeiro, fevereiro, maro
Christmas, Easter
Natal, Pscoa
We also use capital letters for countries, cities, continents and monuments. Look
Last year I visited several cities in Spain, for example, Barcelona, where I saw
the Sagrada Familia.
No ano passado visitei vrias cidades da Espanha, por exemplo, Barcelona, onde vi a
Sagrada Famlia.
I love Big Ben in London.
Adoro o Big Ben de Londres.
He has visited Europe and Asia.
Ele j visitou Europa e sia.

 Her favourite country is Italy.

Seu pas favorito Itlia.
We also use them for peoples names and titles. Look at some examples:
William Shakespeare
Mrs Jones
Dr Smith
Queen Elizabeth
They are also used whenever you start a new sentence or after a full stop.
The car drove very fast. It was hard to see it in the dark.
O carro estava indo muito rpido. Foi difcil v-lo no escuro.
Would you like more tea? No, thank you!
Voc aceita um pouco mais de ch? No, obrigado!
My parents like to go swimming on the weekend. However, my sister prefers seeing
her friends.
Meus pais gostam de nadar nos fins de semana. Minha irm, no entanto, prefere ficar com
os amigos.
Languages are also capitalised in English. Here are some examples:
She speaks Spanish very well.
Ela fala espanhol muito bem.
I cant believe how hard Chinese is. I have studied it for years and still dont
understand anything!
No posso acreditar como o chins difcil. Estou estudando h muitos anos e ainda no
entendo nada!
English is a very useful language for travelling and work.
O ingls uma lngua muito til para viajar e trabalhar.
Writing in any language is important so remember that in section 3 in each unit in the ABA
online course there is a section dedicated to writing for you to practise and improve your
writing and spelling.