Prepositions: indicating times (Am Montag)

Präpositionen: Zeiten angeben (Am Montag)

Die Präpositionen der Zeit sind am, im, um, vor, nach, seit & ab.

(The time prepositions are am, im, um, vor, nach, seit & ab.)

Teacher explanation

Choose the right time preposition: a quick decision tree

Clock time? → um
Day / date? (weekday, weekend, one specific day) → am
Month / season? → im
Before / after an activity? → vor / nach
Since (start in the past, still true now)? → seit
From (start now or in the future)? → ab

“um” for clock times (Uhrzeiten)

Use um + time (+ Uhr is common):

German	Meaning
Um 8 Uhr beginnt das Meeting.	At 8:00 the meeting starts.
Ich rufe dich um 14:30 an.	I’ll call you at 2:30 pm.
Um Mitternacht bin ich zu Hause.	Around midnight I’m home.

Typical mistake: ~~Am 8 Uhr~~ → Um 8 Uhr

“am” for days and dates (Wochentage, Wochenende, Datum)

Use am + weekday / part of a specific day:

German	Meaning
Am Dienstag habe ich ein Meeting.	On Tuesday I have a meeting.
Wir arbeiten am Wochenende.	We work on the weekend.
Am 3. Mai habe ich frei.	On May 3rd I’m off.

Typical mistake: ~~Im Dienstag~~ → Am Dienstag

“im” for months and seasons (Monate, Jahreszeiten)

Use im + month / season:

German	Meaning
Im September beginnt meine neue Arbeit.	My new job starts in September.
Im Winter wird es früh dunkel.	In winter it gets dark early.
Ich mache im Januar einen Deutschkurs.	I’m taking a German course in January.

Typical mistake: ~~Am September~~ → Im September

“vor” and “nach” + activity: before / after (relative time)

Use these when you mean a time relative to another action.
Pattern: vor / nach + noun phrase

German	Meaning
Vor der Arbeit mache ich Sport.	Before work I work out.
Nach dem Meeting schreibe ich eine E-Mail.	After the meeting I write an email.
Nach der Arbeit gehe ich nach Hause.	After work I go home.

Pay attention: nach can also mean to with places: nach Hause, nach Berlin (no article).

“seit” vs. “ab”: starting points (the most common confusion)

Preposition	Start point	Meaning now	Example
seit	in the past	continues until now	Seit einem Jahr wohne ich in Deutschland.
ab	from now or the future	starts at that point	Ab nächster Woche arbeite ich früher.

Self-check question:
Is it already true today?
- Yes → usually seit
- No, it starts later → usually ab
Typical mistakes:
- ~~Seit nächster Woche~~ → Ab nächster Woche
- ~~Ab einem Jahr wohne ich hier~~ → Seit einem Jahr

Mini checklist: what to pay attention to

Is it a clock time? Use um.
Is it a day/date? Use am.
Is it a month/season? Use im.
Is it “before/after” something? Use vor/nach.
Is it a starting point?
- Started in the past and still true → seit
- Starts now or later → ab

Use “um” to give clock times, “am” for days of the week, and “im” for seasons and months.
“vor” and “nach” refer to points in time.
“seit” and “ab” refer to starting points in the past, present, or future.

Präposition	Beispiel
am (on)	„Am Montag fange ich an.“ (“On Monday I start.”)
im (in)	„Im Winter geht die Sonne früh unter.“ (“In winter the sun sets early.”)
um (at)	„Um acht Uhr schlafe ich noch.“ (“At eight o’clock I’m still sleeping.”)
vor (before)	„Vor der Arbeit mache ich Sport.“ (“Before* work I exercise.”*)
nach (after)	„Nach der Arbeit gehe ich nach Hause.“ (“After* work I go home.”*)
seit (since)	„Seit einem Jahr mache ich meine Ausbildung.“ (“For* a year now I’ve been doing my apprenticeship.”*)
ab (from / starting)	„Ab nächster Woche schlafe ich früher.“ (“Starting* next week I’ll go to sleep earlier.”*)

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

1. ___ Dienstag habe ich ein Meeting im Büro.

2. ___ September beginnt meine neue Arbeit.

3. ___ 7 Uhr mache ich Sport am Morgen.

4. ___ einem Jahr wohne ich in Deutschland.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences: Replace the time indication in brackets with the correct time preposition (am, im, um, vor, nach, seit, ab). Example: (Montag) Ich habe frei. → Am Montag habe ich frei.

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(Montag) Ich habe ein Meeting.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Am Montag habe ich ein Meeting.
(On Monday I have a meeting.)
(Januar) Ich mache einen Deutschkurs.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Im Januar mache ich einen Deutschkurs.
(In January I'm taking a German course.)
(8:15) Der Zug kommt.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Um 8:15 Uhr kommt der Zug.
(At 8:15 the train arrives.)
(die Arbeit) Ich trinke Kaffee.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Vor der Arbeit trinke ich Kaffee.
(Before work I drink coffee.)
(die Arbeit) Ich gehe nach Hause.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Nach der Arbeit gehe ich nach Hause.
(After work I go home.)
(zwei Monate) Ich wohne in Berlin.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Seit zwei Monaten wohne ich in Berlin.
(I've been living in Berlin for two months.)

Exercise 3: Grammar in action

Instruction: Discuss briefly: When do you work and when do you take breaks?

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Situation

Du planst mit einem Kollegen eure Arbeitswoche für das neue Projekt.

Discuss

An welchen Tagen arbeitet ihr zusammen und wann beginnt ihr die Arbeit? (On which days do you work together and when do you start work?)
Wann macht ihr Pause am Vormittag oder am Nachmittag — warum? (Erklärt kurz.)? |REMOVE|? ? |REMOVE|? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 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Useful words and phrases

Am Montag arbeite ich am Vormittag. (On Monday I work in the morning.)
Um 8:00 Uhr mache ich eine Pause. (At 8:00 I take a break.)
Vor der Arbeit jogge ich, nach der Arbeit esse ich zu Abend. (Before work I go jogging, after work I eat dinner.)

Use in conversation

am + Wochentag (on + weekday)
um + Uhrzeit (at + time)
vor / nach + Aktivität (before / after + activity)