ADVERBS OF TIME

ADVERBS OF TIME - these answer the question when?

This adverb usually comes either at the very beginning of the sentence or at the end.

Afterwards we decided to go by car. I've done that journey before.

Note: yet and still: yet should be placed at the end of the sentence.

Still should be placed before the verb, except with the verb 'to be' when it comes after.

We haven't started yet.

He still wears old-fashioned clothes.
She is still a student.

Compare these two sentences:

The train still hasn't arrived.
The train hasn't arrived yet.

Adverbials of time can be time expressions such as ‘last night’.

Adverbials of time can be prepositional phrases with ‘at’, ‘in’, or  ‘on’.

‘For’ refers to a period of time in the past, present, or future.

‘Since’ refers to a point in past time.

1. We use adverbials of time to say when something happens. We often use noun groups called time expressions as adverbials of time.

yesterday today tomorrow last year next Saturday next week the day after tomorrow last night the other day

One of my children wrote to me today..
So, you're coming back next week?

We often use time expressions with verbs in the present tense to talk about the future.
The plane leaves tomorrow morning.
They're coming next week.


2. We can use prepositional phrases as adverbials of time:

• ‘at’ is used with:

  clock times: at eight o'clock, at three fifteen religious festivals: at Christmas, at Easter mealtimes: at breakfast, at lunchtimes specific periods: at night, at the weekend, at weekends, at half-term

• ‘in’ is used with:

  seasons: in autumn, in the spring years and centuries: in 1985, in the year 2000, in the nineteenth century months: in July, in December parts of the day: in the morning, in the evenings

• ‘on’ is used with:

  days: on Monday, on Tuesday morning, on Sunday evenings special days: on Christmas Day, on my birthday, on his wedding anniversary dates: on the twentieth of July, on June 21st

3. We use ‘for’ with verbs in any tense to say how long something continues to happen.


He is in Italy for a month..
I remained silent for a long time.
I will be in London for three months.

4. We use ‘since’ with a verb in the present perfect or past perfect tense to say when something started to happen.

Marilyn has lived in Paris since 1984..
I had eaten nothing since breakfast..