The pattern
Use om for a time on the clock, op for a day or a date, and in for a month, a season or a year.
- om + clock time: om acht uur, om twaalf uur. The word uur stays singular. More in telling the time.
- op + day or date: op zaterdag, op 5 mei, op mijn verjaardag. With a day of the week, Dutch often drops op: Ik werk zaterdag usually means this Saturday.
- in + month, season or year: in juni, in de winter, in 2024. Seasons keep their article (the word for "the").
- Parts of the day, with no preposition in front: 's ochtends (in the morning), 's middags (in the afternoon), 's avonds (in the evening), 's nachts (at night). 's morgens means the same as 's ochtends. You will also hear in de ochtend, but the 's forms are the everyday choice.
- van ... tot means from ... until: van negen tot vijf. To include the last day, say tot en met (up to and including): van maandag tot en met vrijdag.
Examples
| Mijn trein vertrekt om acht uur. | My train leaves at eight o'clock. |
| Sanne heeft op vrijdag vrij. | Sanne is off on Fridays. |
| Fatima is op 3 maart jarig. | Fatima's birthday is on 3 March. |
| Ahmed heeft in juli vakantie. | Ahmed has his holiday in July. |
| Het regent veel in de herfst. | It rains a lot in autumn. |
| Lotte en Bas trouwen in 2027. | Lotte and Bas are getting married in 2027. |
| Joris drinkt 's ochtends koffie. | Joris drinks coffee in the morning. |
| Yara is 's middags thuis. | Yara is at home in the afternoon. |
| 's Avonds kijkt Emma tv. | In the evening, Emma watches TV. |
| Carlos werkt van negen tot vijf. | Carlos works from nine to five. |
Why it works this way
Think of zooming out on a calendar. A clock time is a tiny point, a day is one square, and a month, season or year is a big block of squares. English does the same with at, on and in, so only one word really changes: at becomes om. A handy picture: om can also mean around (om de hoek, around the corner), and clock hands go round all day. German speakers get a gift: German um, am and im become om, op and in.
You can combine them: op maandag om acht uur, om tien uur 's avonds.
The 's in 's avonds is a fossil, short for des, an old form of the word for "the". Treat the whole thing as one fixed word. At the start of a sentence, the 's stays small and the next word gets the capital: 's Avonds. See when Dutch uses an apostrophe.
Remember: small, medium, large. A clock time gets om, a day gets op, and a month, season or year gets in.
Watch out
FalschDe les begint op acht uur.
RichtigDe les begint om acht uur.
clock times take om
FalschDe winkel is open van negen naar zes.
RichtigDe winkel is open van negen tot zes.
naar is for going somewhere; until is tot
FalschMijn verjaardag is in 12 juni.
RichtigMijn verjaardag is op 12 juni.
a day number makes it a date, so op
FalschIk fiets graag in zomer.
RichtigIk fiets graag in de zomer.
English can drop the, Dutch keeps de
FalschIk sport s'avonds.
RichtigIk sport 's avonds.
apostrophe first, then s, then a space
Quick check
- Choose om, op or in: De film begint ... negen uur.
- Choose om, op or in: Priya is ... 8 oktober jarig.
- Choose om, op or in: Het sneeuwt soms ... januari.
- Fill in 's ochtends, 's middags, 's avonds or 's nachts: Lotte werkt ... in het ziekenhuis. (at night)
Antworten zeigen
- om (a clock time)
- op (a date)
- in (a month)
- 's nachts (at night)
Use it today
Check the opening hours of your supermarket and say them out loud: De supermarkt is open van acht tot tien. Then tell someone your own week: Op maandag werk ik van negen tot vijf.