GermanFluent

A1 · Time and place prepositions

um acht Uhr

at + clock time

Formum + Uhrzeit

Meaning and usage

Use um with a clock time to say when something happens. The time comes after um: um acht, um halb neun, um 14.30 Uhr. The word Uhr can follow the number, and it is usual in writing and in careful speech. um never changes its form, and the time after it does not take an article.

The mistake learners make is to use in or an with a clock time, as in in acht or an acht. German uses um here. For parts of the day and for days, other prepositions are used, so learn each time expression with its preposition.

Examples 6

Test yourself

  1. 1 Sprachbausteine

    Der Film beginnt acht Uhr.

    Show answer

    Correct answer: um

    um is the preposition for clock times, so um acht Uhr means at eight o'clock. The other prepositions do not combine with a clock time in this way.

    • an is used with days and dates, such as am Montag, not with clock times.
    • auf does not express a clock time.
    • in is used for periods of time, such as in einer Stunde, not for a point in time like acht Uhr.

In this topic: Time and place prepositions

  1. am Montag, am Abend on Monday, in the evening
  2. im Januar, im Sommer in a month or season
  3. um acht Uhr at + clock time
  4. von … bis from one time or place to another
  5. nächste Woche, jeden Tag next week, every day: no preposition, accusative
  6. vor zwei Jahren ago, with a length of time
  7. Ich komme aus … saying where someone or something comes from
  8. nach Berlin, zum Arzt, in die Schule to a town, to a person, into a place
  9. zu Hause, nach Hause at home vs. going home
  10. bei at someone's home, at a company, near a place
  11. zum, zur, ins, beim, vom zum, zur, ins, beim, vom: preposition and article as one

Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.