TOPIC · Prepositions (Präpositionen)

Temporal Prepositions IN, AN UND UM

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After this lesson, you can use the German prepositions in, an and um to form clear and correct time expressions.

In this lesson you learn how to use the German prepositions in, an and um to talk about time. Focus on whether you mean a time period or a precise point in time.

Preposition "in"

You use in for months, years, seasons and future time periods. After in you usually have the Dativ.

Typical uses of "in"

Use	Examples	Meaning
months	im Januar, im August	in January, in August
years	im Jahr 2020, im Jahr 2024	in the year 2020, in the year 2024
seasons	im Sommer, im Winter	in (the) summer, in (the) winter
future periods	in einer Woche, in zwei Tagen, in drei Jahren	in a week, in two days, in three years

Key points:

in + Dativ: in dem Januar → im Januar ("in" + "dem" contract).
For future: in zwei Tagen = "in two days (from now)".

Examples with "in"

Ich fahre im Juli nach Berlin. (I go to Berlin in July.)
Im Winter trage ich einen warmen Mantel. (In winter, I wear a warm coat.)
Wir sehen uns in zwei Wochen wieder. (We will see each other again in two weeks.)
Die Schule beginnt in einem Monat. (School starts in a month.)

Preposition "an"

You use an for specific days, dates and parts of the day. Here you usually need the Dativ.

Typical uses of "an"

Use	Examples	Meaning
weekdays	am Montag, am Freitag	on Monday, on Friday
dates	am 1. Mai, am 24. Dezember	on May 1st, on December 24th
parts of day	am Morgen, am Nachmittag, am Abend	in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening
holidays	an Weihnachten, an Ostern	at Christmas, at Easter

Notes:

an + Dativ: an dem Montag → am Montag.
For a day and time, combine an and um: am Abend um 19 Uhr (in the evening at 7 p.m.).

Examples with "an"

Wir treffen uns am Samstag. (We meet on Saturday.)
Die Schule beginnt am 1. September. (School starts on September 1st.)
Ich arbeite nicht am Sonntag. (I do not work on Sunday.)
Am Morgen trinke ich Kaffee. (In the morning I drink coffee.)

Preposition "um"

You use um for exact clock times and some fixed expressions like um Mitternacht.

Typical uses of "um"

Use	Examples	Meaning
clock times	um 8 Uhr, um 14 Uhr 30, um 19 Uhr	at 8 o'clock, at 2:30, at 7 p.m.
fixed phrase	um Mitternacht	at midnight

Examples with "um"

Der Unterricht beginnt um 8 Uhr. (The lesson starts at 8 o'clock.)
Der Film startet um 20 Uhr. (The film starts at 8 p.m.)
Wir essen um 19 Uhr 30 zu Abend. (We have dinner at 7:30 p.m.)
Das neue Jahr beginnt um Mitternacht. (The new year begins at midnight.)

Comparison: in – an – um

Question	Answer with preposition	Meaning
Wann? (Monat)	im Mai	in May (month)
Wann? (Tag)	am Montag	on Monday (day)
Wann? (Uhrzeit)	um 9 Uhr	at 9 o'clock (time)
In wie vielen…?	in drei Tagen	in three days (from now)

Short summary

in: months, years, seasons, future periods → im Januar, im Sommer, in zwei Tagen
an: days, dates, general parts of the day, holidays → am Montag, am 3. Mai, am Abend, an Weihnachten
um: exact time → um 7 Uhr, um Mitternacht