Understanding Prepositions of Time: Arriving on Sunday Morning

This question asks us to identify the sentence that uses a preposition correctly when referring to a specific day and part of the day. Prepositions like 'in', 'at', and 'on' are commonly used to indicate time, but their usage depends on the context, specifically the type of time reference (e.g., specific time, day, month, year).

Analyzing the Preposition Usage

Let's examine each option to understand why a particular preposition is appropriate or inappropriate with "Sunday morning".

• Option 1: "He arrived to Sunday morning."

  The preposition 'to' is typically used for movement towards a destination or a point in space, or sometimes to indicate the end point of a time period (e.g., from Monday to Friday). It is not used before a day or a specific part of a day to indicate when something happened.

• Option 2: "He arrived at Sunday morning."

  The preposition 'at' is used for specific points in time (e.g., at 3 o'clock, at noon, at midnight) or for holidays without "day" (e.g., at Christmas, at Easter). It is not used with days of the week or periods like 'morning' when combined with a day.

• Option 3: "He arrived in Sunday morning."

  The preposition 'in' is used for longer periods of time such as months (e.g., in July), seasons (e.g., in summer), years (e.g., in 2023), centuries (e.g., in the 19th century), or general parts of the day (e.g., in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening). While 'in the morning' is correct, when a specific day is mentioned ('Sunday morning'), 'in' is incorrect.

• Option 4: "He arrived on Sunday morning."

  The preposition 'on' is correctly used with specific days of the week (e.g., on Sunday, on Monday), specific dates (e.g., on July 4th, on October 26th), and also with specific mornings, afternoons, or evenings when a day is mentioned (e.g., on Sunday morning, on Monday afternoon, on Tuesday evening). Since the time reference is "Sunday morning", which includes a specific day, 'on' is the appropriate preposition.

Correct Sentence and Preposition Rule

Based on the rules of English grammar for prepositions of time, the preposition 'on' is used with specific days or parts of specific days.

Therefore, the sentence "He arrived on Sunday morning" correctly uses the preposition 'on' to indicate the time of arrival.

Revision Table: Common Prepositions of Time

Additional Information on English Prepositions

Prepositions are essential words in English that connect nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words in a sentence, often indicating relationships of location, time, direction, or manner. Choosing the correct preposition can sometimes be tricky as usage rules have exceptions, and some common phrases use prepositions in ways that don't always follow the general rules.

For time, 'at' is used for clock times and specific moments. 'In' is for longer periods or general time frames. 'On' is for days and dates. Remember that context is key, and practicing with different time expressions helps master their correct usage.