Question 1

Why do we say "at night" but "in the morning"?

Accepted Answer

This is one of the most famous preposition exceptions in English. For most parts of the day, we use "in": "in the morning," "in the afternoon," "in the evening." But for night, the standard expression is "at night" — no article and a different preposition. The reason is historical: "at night" comes from Old English, where "at" was used for darkness as a point in time rather than a period. In modern British English, you may hear "in the night" to mean "at some point during the night" — "The baby woke up in the night" — but this is a more specific use. For the general time period meaning "when it is dark," always use "at night": "Owls hunt at night." Cambridge A2 and B1 exams regularly test this expression.

Question 2

Why is there no preposition before "home" after "arrive"?

Accepted Answer

In English, "home" often works as an adverb of place rather than a noun, which means it does not need a preposition: "I arrived home at 6 o'clock" (not "arrived at home"), "I'm going home" (not "going to home"), "She came home late" (not "came to home"). This is similar to "here" and "there" — we say "I arrived there" (not "arrived at there"). However, if "home" has a describing word before it like "my," "your," or "their," it becomes a regular noun and needs a preposition: "I arrived at her home" and "We went to their home" are both correct. This difference between "home" as an adverb and "home" as a noun catches many learners by surprise.

Question 3

What are the most common preposition exceptions in English?

Accepted Answer

The most useful exceptions to learn are: "at night" (despite "in the morning"), "arrive home" (no preposition), "on holiday" (British English), "on fire," "by heart" (to memorise), "by mistake" and "by accident" (not "with mistake"), "in time" (early enough) vs "on time" (punctual), "at the end" (position) vs "in the end" (finally), "on the phone" (not "in the phone"), and "on television" or "on the radio" (not "in"). For travel, we say "by car," "by bus," "by train" (method of transport — no article), but "in a car" and "on a bus" (inside the vehicle — with article). Learning these as complete phrases rather than individual rules is the most effective approach for B1 and B2 level.

Common Preposition Exceptions Exercises

Quick Rule

Continue Practising

Prepositions of Time and Place Error Correction

In, On, At for Time

In, On, At for Place

-ed vs -ing Adjectives

Conditionals

Present Perfect