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Unit 12
Days, Months & Seasons
Talking about time, dates, and directions
Why These Matter
Knowing the days of the week, months of the year, seasons, and directions helps you talk about time, make plans, and describe places. These words are essential in daily life, work, and travel.
Examples: I work on Mondays. / My birthday is in May. / We travel every summer. / Istanbul is in the northwest of Türkiye.
Days of the Week
Saturday + Sunday = the weekend. Monday–Friday = weekdays.
Weekend prepositions vary: at the weekend (UK) / on the weekend (US).
| Day | Example |
|---|---|
| Monday | I start work on Monday. |
| Tuesday | I go to the gym on Tuesday. |
| Wednesday | Our class is on Wednesday. |
| Thursday | We have a meeting on Thursday. |
| Friday | Friday is my favorite day. |
| Saturday | I usually relax on Saturday. |
| Sunday | I visit my family on Sunday. |
Capital Letters and "on Mondays"
- Turkish writes days and months with a small letter (pazartesi, ocak). English always uses a capital letter: Monday, January. Seasons are usually small: summer, winter.
- For one specific day: I'm busy on Monday. For a regular habit, use the plural: I go to the gym on Mondays (= every Monday).
- Short forms: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun · Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.
Months of the Year
For full dates, use "on": on May 14th, on October 1st, on December 25, 2024.
| Month | Example |
|---|---|
| January | It often snows in January. |
| February | Valentine's Day is in February. |
| March | Spring begins in March. |
| April | We travel in April. |
| May | My birthday is in May. |
| June | School ends in June. |
| July | It's very hot in July. |
| August | We take a holiday in August. |
| September | Classes start in September. |
| October | I love the colors in October. |
| November | It's windy in November. |
| December | We celebrate New Year in December. |
Seasons
Autumn (British English) = Fall (American English). Both are correct.
Use "in" before seasons: in summer, in winter.
Use "the" for specific years: in the summer of 2024.
| Season | Months | Weather | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | March–May | warm, rainy | Flowers bloom in spring. |
| Summer | June–August | hot, sunny | We go swimming in summer. |
| Autumn / Fall | September–November | cool, windy | Leaves fall in autumn. |
| Winter | December–February | cold, snowy | It snows in winter. |
Compass Directions
Important rules:
- Use "the" before direction words: the north, the south, the east, the west.
- Pattern: in the [direction] of [place]. Example: Paris is in the north of France.
- Combined directions: northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest.
- Capitalise when part of a name: South Africa, North America, the Middle East.
| Direction | Example |
|---|---|
| North | Norway is in the north of Europe. |
| South | Antalya is in the south of Türkiye. |
| East | The sun rises in the east. |
| West | The sun sets in the west. |
Prepositions Summary
| Preposition | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| on | days & dates | on Monday, on March 5th, on my birthday |
| in | months, years, seasons, directions | in June, in 2024, in summer, in the north |
| at | specific times, "the weekend" (UK) | at 7 o'clock, at night, at the weekend (UK) |
No Preposition with this / next / last / every
When a time word starts with this, next, last, every or tomorrow / yesterday, we don't use in/on/at:
| ✅ Correct | ❌ Wrong |
|---|---|
| I'll see you next Monday. | on next Monday |
| We met last summer. | in last summer |
| She trains every Friday. | on every Friday |
| The exam is this month. | in this month |
| They arrived yesterday morning. | in yesterday morning |
Examples
Subject
Verb
Auxiliary
Object
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Hover over any word to see its role.
subjectIverbhave classprepositionon Monday
↳ Day → "on"
subjectMy birthdayverbisprepositionin May
↳ Month → "in"
subjectWeverbtravelprepositionin summer
↳ Season → "in"
subjectIstanbulverbisprepositionin the northwestprepositionof Türkiye
↳ Direction → "in the + direction + of"
subjectThe examverbisprepositionon March 5th
↳ Date → "on"
Common Mistakes
in Monday
→
on Monday
Days take "on", not "in".
on July
→
in July
Months take "in".
at summer
→
in summer
Seasons take "in".
in north of Türkiye
→
in the north of Türkiye
Directions need "the" before them.
at the morning
→
in the morning
Parts of the day take "in".
on May the 14
→
on May 14th / on the 14th of May
Dates use ordinal numbers (14th, not 14).
in monday
→
on Monday
Day names must be capitalised — and use "on".
See you on next Friday.
→
See you next Friday.
No preposition before next / last / this / every.
The exam is in monday, 3 march.
→
The exam is on Monday, 3 March.
Capitalise day and month names, and use "on" for days and dates.