"around five p.m." or "at around 5 p.m." (2024)

FAQs

"around five p.m." or "at around 5 p.m."? ›

There is no rule of English to prevent the use of "It gets dark at around 5pm", and there is nothing ungrammatical about it. "It gets dark at {a time}" is correct. The phrase "around 5pm" is a time statement, exactly as is "approximately 5pm", and with the same meaning.

So, a time of day, a point in the day or a specific o'clock, a specific a.m. or p.m. time, we can use "around" before that, just as we used "about." So, again, "around" and "about" have the same function in these sentences.

In general, the preposition on is often used for places and or locations. There is really no definite rule nor formula for choosing a preposition and this can be a tremendous challenge for English language learners. Usually we use at with: Clock times: "at 5:00 pm"

At or on? We use at to talk about public holidays and weekends, but when we talk about a particular special day or weekend, we use on.

Always use the preposition at with time. So - see you at 4pm. More examples: I eat breakfast at 8am. I go to bed at 11pm.

AT = precisely 5 pm. AROUND = shortly before or after 5 pm.

around 8AM or "approximately 8AM" refers to an approximate time. So there's no reason why around 8AM could not be the complement of at in its temporal sense: I go to work at around 8AM.

In terms of language, however, 'at 3 pm' simply means at that time. But 'by 3pm' means more than that. It means before 3 pm or at the time or not later than.

Always use the preposition at with time. So - see you at 4pm. More examples: I eat breakfast at 8am. I go to bed at 11pm.

'on time' means 'at the arranged or correct time', whereas the phrase 'in time' means 'before it's too late'. Now, you are probably wondering when to use these phrases, so let's start with 'on time'. We generally use 'on time' for something that has a fixed time every day, or a plan that we have arranged previously.

Is it 2pm or 2 00pm? ›

In addition, when writing the times 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, etc., it is perfectly acceptable to omit the zeroes and write 1 pm, 2 pm, instead. Finally, note that while in the US we use a 12-hour clock, some countries use a 24-hour clock, or military time.

Two periods are used. It is 7 a.m., not 7 am.

“At” is used in reference to specific times on the clock or points of time in the day. “In” usually refers to period of time. And “on” is used with dates and named days of the week. And “by” is used specifically with an end point of time and it means no later than.

“At" is far more specific, and denotes the exact time something will happen. “By” denotes the latest time something can happen. Think of the difference between an appointment and a deadline. If the party starts at 9pm and you arrive at 8, you're doing it wrong.

Afternoon 12:01 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Late afternoon 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Early evening 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Dusk around sunset Evening 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

For example, “Good morning” is generally used from 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. whereas “Good afternoon” time is from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. “Good evening” is often used after 6 p.m. or when the sun goes down.

The expression “around 11” is only used by people who are careless of their own and other's time. It could refer to 11 AM or 11 PM, and when it does, around 11 typically means later rather than earlier. Nobody who uses this expression shows up at 10:45.

At around 3pm means at approximately 3pm. At 3pm ideally means at 3pm exactly.

Around means “in the vicinity of” and is usually used with a specific location. For example: I looked around the park for my keys. About means “in the vicinity of” or “in relation to” and can be used with a more general location or an idea. For example: I heard about a new restaurant in town.

“around this time" means “about now" e.g “The shop should be open around this time.” “This time around" means a situation or action has happened before, and is now happening, or about to happen again.