Prepositions connect words and groups of words together. They express the relation between living beings, things or contexts.
Prepositions that describe relations of time are called temporal prepositions. They answer the questions "Wann?" (when?) or "Wie lange?" (how long?).
Some prepositions can be merged with the article they precede to form a contraction. Here are the most common contractions:
| Preposition + article | Contraction | Example | ||
| an + dem | am | am Montag | ||
| in + dem | im | im Sommer | ||
| bei + dem | beim | beim Essen |
You're already familiar with the following temporal prepositions. They are used to indicate a point in time:
| an | e.g. days of the week times of day dates |
Sie arbeiten am Samstag oder Sonntag? Am Morgen gibt es Frühstück. Ich habe am 17. März Geburtstag. |
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| in | e.g. seasons | Hier schneit es im Sommer. | ||
| um | precise times | Geht es auch um 14 Uhr dreißig? | ||
| für | e.g. a future point in time e.g. appointments and meetings |
Sie möchten einen Termin für Montag? |