Refined English

Is there a difference in meaning when you say, 'he reached in time,' and 'he reached on time'? Both these phrases are almost similar but have slightly different meanings.  Let's imagine a baby crawling toward a staircase going down. When someone picks the baby right before the baby reaches the edge, which could have been dangerous, we would say that the baby was picked just in time, referring to the fact that this was not a planned activity, yet whatever happened required that action be taken 'in time.'  However, 'in time' can also be used for planned activities where action was taken or happened right 'in time,' not sooner, nor later. People who always reach just 'in time,' or submit their assignments 'in time' may be considered tardy. 'On time' is generally used for planned activities with deadlines such as appointments, schedules, etc. People who always keep time and are 'on time' are considered punctual and...

Basic prepositions of time are used to discuss time which could be general or specific. Most words used for prepositions of time are the same as the ones as prepositions of place but are used differently. The simple distinguishing factor is the purpose the preposition is used for. IN This preposition is used to speak about periods of time. It covers the categories such as eras, centuries, decades, years, months, weeks, seasons and parts of the day. ON The preposition 'on' is used with days of the week, specific special days, dates, holidays, weekends and holidays using the word 'day.' AT At is used with clock times, festivals, exact time of the day or night and holidays that don't include 'day.' We do not use prepositions when referring to yesterday, today, tomorrow.