表示时间的介词

at

at用于表示接近某一时刻或年龄。由其构成的常用短语有: at three o’clock, at noon, at night, at midnight, at the end of, at that time, at the beginning of, at the age of, at once, at present, at the same time等。

例1At the end of day, they parted. 白天结束时,他们分手了。

in

in表示“在一段时间内”,由其构成的常用短语有:in the morning / afternoon / evening, in October, in 1998, in summer, in the past, in the future,in the end, in the age of Internet等。

in 和after都能表示“在某个时间之后”,区别在于in表示“在一段时间之后”,而after则通常用来表示“在某一具体时间点之后”。此时, in短语和将来时态连用, after短语和过去时态或将来时态连用。after有时也可表示在一段时间之后,常用过去时。

例2We’ll go to Japan in three days. 我们三天后去日本。

例3We went home after seven yesterday. 我们昨天七点后回家。

例4After two days he returned. 过了两天他回来了。

on

on用于表示某一特定的时间,由其构成的常用短语有: on July 3, on Monday, on Christmas morning, on May Day, on a warm morning等。

on还可以表示“当……的时候”。

例5On hearing the news, he was very happy. 听到这则新闻,他非常开心。

by

by表示“不迟于;在……以前”,如用在by the end of这样的短语中。

例6He had finished the work by ten o’clock this morning. 到今天上午十点钟, 他已完成了这项工作。

since

since 表示“自从……以来”,即“从那时起到现在”,常与现在完成时连用。

例7They have been friends since childhood. 他们从幼时起就一直是好朋友。

from

from表示从时间的某一点开始,不涉及与现在的关系,一般多与现在时、过去时、将来时连用。

例8I hope to do morning exercises from now on. 我想从现在起开始做早操。

till和until

till与until同义,它们在肯定句中都表示“到……为止;在……以前”,搭配的动词必须是延续性的;在否定句中都表示“直到……才”,延续性、非延续性动词都可以搭配。但在主句前的从句或短语中,通常用until。

例9Until you told me, I had heard nothing about it. 在你告诉我以前,我一点也不知道。

例10He worked hard from morning till night. 他从早到晚努力工作。

until 用于not until句型位于句首时,主句应倒装。

例11Not until he told me did I know the result. 直到他告诉我,我才知道结果。

until 还用于not ... until ...的强调句型:It is / was not until +被强调部分+ that...

例12It was not until twelve o’clock that he went to bed. 直到12点他才去睡觉。

【牛刀小试】

1. ___ hearing the news, Tom was wild__joy.

A. At; in B. On; with C. After; by D. In; with

2. The book was written in 1946,___the education system has witnessed great changes.

A. when B. during which C. since then D. since when

3. Some people say that we live ___ the age of computers.

A. in B. at C. with D. for

4. It happened___the Long March.

A. during B. in C. at D. for

5. ―How long has the bookshop been in business?

―___1988.

A. After B. In C. From D. Since

6. The train leaves____7 : 00 p.m., so I have to be at the station___ 6 : 40 p.m. at the latest.

A. at; until B. for; after C. at; by D. before; around

7. We left Beijing ___a very hot summer afternoon.

A. on B. in C. during D. by

8. I saw Jack yesterday. He told me that he would stay here ___ the end of this year.

A. at B. by C. for D. till

9. Mr Wang went to Nanjing___October, 2007 and came back home ____the morning of Nov.10.

A.at; in B. on; at C. in; on D. by; from

10. The old man died___cold__ a cold night.

A. from; at B. of; in C. of; on D. for; during

11. Not until you really grow up___why we need to work hard.

A. you can understand B. can you understand

C. understand can you D. understand you can

12. It was not until I saw Mary in New York__ I felt happy.

A. when B. that C. before D. after

【参考答案】

1~5. BDAAD6~10. CADCC11~12. BB