Prepositions of Time in Dutch

Prepositions of time tell you when something happens: at a certain hour, on a specific day, in a particular month. Dutch time prepositions overlap with English in some cases but differ in others. One of the most distinctive features is the use of 's (a reduced form of the old genitive des) for parts of the day: 's morgens (in the morning), 's avonds (in the evening).

Getting these prepositions right is essential for scheduling, making plans, talking about routines, and understanding timetables. At the A1 level, you need to know which preposition goes with clock times, days, months, seasons, and parts of the day.

The rules are mostly consistent, so once you learn the patterns, you can apply them confidently.

Formation / How It Works

Common Time Prepositions

Dutch	English	Used with	Example
om	at	clock times	om drie uur (at three o'clock)
op	on	days, dates	op maandag (on Monday)
in	in	months, years, seasons	in januari (in January)
's	in the (part of day)	morning, afternoon, evening	's morgens (in the morning)
voor	before	events, times	voor het eten (before dinner)
na	after	events, times	na de les (after the lesson)
sinds	since	point in time	sinds 2020 (since 2020)
tot	until	end point	tot vijf uur (until five o'clock)
van...tot	from...to	time ranges	van negen tot vijf (from nine to five)
tijdens	during	events	tijdens de pauze (during the break)
over	in (from now)	future duration	over een uur (in an hour)
geleden	ago	past duration	twee jaar geleden (two years ago)

Parts of the Day

Dutch uses the special construction 's + genitive form for parts of the day:

Dutch	English	Literal
's morgens / 's ochtends	in the morning	of-the morning
's middags	in the afternoon	of-the afternoon
's avonds	in the evening	of-the evening
's nachts	at night	of-the night

Note: 's Morgens and 's ochtends both mean "in the morning." 's Ochtends is slightly more common in the Netherlands.

Days, Months, Seasons

Category	Preposition	Example
Days of the week	op	op dinsdag (on Tuesday)
Dates	op	op 5 mei (on May 5th)
Months	in	in maart (in March)
Years	in	in 2025 (in 2025)
Seasons	in	in de zomer (in the summer)

Note: In casual speech, op before days is often dropped: Ik werk maandag (I work Monday).

Clock Times

Dutch	English
om acht uur	at eight o'clock
om halfnegen	at half past eight
om kwart over drie	at quarter past three
om kwart voor vijf	at quarter to five

Examples in Context

Dutch	English	Note
De les begint om negen uur.	The lesson starts at nine o'clock.	Clock time → om
Ik werk op maandag en woensdag.	I work on Monday and Wednesday.	Days → op
Wij gaan in juli op vakantie.	We go on vacation in July.	Month → in
's Morgens drink ik koffie.	In the morning I drink coffee.	Part of day → 's
Hij komt na het eten.	He comes after dinner.	After → na
Ik woon hier sinds 2019.	I have lived here since 2019.	Since → sinds
De winkel is open tot zes uur.	The shop is open until six.	Until → tot
Ik ben over tien minuten klaar.	I will be done in ten minutes.	Future duration → over
Zij is twee jaar geleden verhuisd.	She moved two years ago.	Past → geleden
We werken van maandag tot vrijdag.	We work from Monday to Friday.	Range → van...tot
Tijdens de pauze eet ik een broodje.	During the break I eat a sandwich.	During → tijdens
In de winter is het koud.	In winter it is cold.	Season → in
Op 25 december is het Kerstmis.	On December 25th it is Christmas.	Date → op

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
In drie uur begint de film.	Om drie uur begint de film.	Use om for specific clock times, not in.
Op januari ga ik op reis.	In januari ga ik op reis.	Months take in, not op.
In maandag werk ik.	Op maandag werk ik.	Days of the week take op.
Ik kom in een uur. (meaning "in one hour from now")	Ik kom over een uur.	For "in X time from now," use over.
In de morgen drink ik thee.	's Morgens drink ik thee.	Parts of the day use the 's construction. (In de morgen is understood but less standard.)

Practice Tips

1. Daily schedule narration. Describe your typical day using time prepositions: 's Morgens sta ik om zeven uur op. Om acht uur ga ik naar het werk. In de middag heb ik pauze. 's Avonds eet ik om zes uur.

2. Calendar practice. Look at your calendar and describe upcoming events: Op dinsdag heb ik een afspraak. In maart ga ik op vakantie. Om drie uur heb ik een vergadering.

3. Learn the parts of the day. Memorize 's morgens, 's middags, 's avonds, 's nachts as fixed chunks. These feel unusual at first but they are very common in Dutch and worth learning by heart.

Related Concepts

• Prepositions of Place
• Basic Word Order
• Regular Verbs Present