Telling time and date (using 'um' for clock times and 'am'/'im' for dates and seasons) - German Grammar

Telling time and date in German: using "um", "am", and "im"

When you tell time and give dates in German, three small words (prepositions) appear again and again: um, am and im. They are short but important. Roughly speaking:
- um = at (used with exact clock times)
- am = on / at (used with days, specific dates, and some parts of the day)
- im = in / in the (used with months, seasons, years, centuries)

This article explains what each one means, when to use it, how to form sentences, and common mistakes to avoid. Examples are given in German with short English translations.

When do I use "um", "am" and "im"?

Quick mapping

um + time (clock times): precise moments — e.g., um 8 Uhr (at 8 o'clock).
am + day/date or part of day: days of the week, calendar dates, weekend, mornings/evenings — e.g., am Montag, am 3. Mai, am Wochenende, am Morgen.
im + month/season/year/century: months, seasons, full years, centuries — e.g., im Juli, im Sommer, im Jahr 2025, im 21. Jahrhundert.

Using "um" for clock times

What "um" means and when to use it

Use um when you give a specific clock time: hour, minutes, or standard expressions like Mitternacht (midnight) and Mittag (noon).
English equivalent: "at" (at 3 o'clock, at noon).

Examples:
- Der Zug fährt um 8 Uhr ab. (The train leaves at 8 o'clock.)
- Das Meeting beginnt um 09:00 Uhr. (The meeting begins at 9:00 a.m.)
- Die Party fängt um 20:30 Uhr an. (The party starts at 8:30 p.m.)
- Treffen wir uns um halb sieben? (Shall we meet at half past six? — 6:30)
- Die Vorstellung ist um Viertel nach neun. (The show is at a quarter past nine — 9:15.)
- Die Sitzung endet um Viertel vor fünf. (The meeting ends at a quarter to five — 4:45.)
- Das Feuerwerk startet um Mitternacht. (The fireworks start at midnight.)

Notes and tips:
- You can often drop "Uhr" in casual speech: "um acht" instead of "um acht Uhr" if it is clear you mean a clock time.
- For an approximate time, use gegen (around): Ich komme gegen 8 Uhr. (I’ll come around 8 o’clock.)
- When giving a time together with a date/day, use am for the day/date and um for the time: e.g. "am Montag um 10 Uhr." (on Monday at 10 o'clock)

Using "am" for days and dates (and parts of the day)

What "am" means and when to use it

"am" is a contraction of an + dem and is used with:
days of the week: am Montag, am Dienstag
calendar dates: am 3. Mai or am dritten Mai
parts of the day (common): am Morgen, am Abend
the weekend: am Wochenende
English equivalents: "on" (on Monday, on May 3) or sometimes "in/at" for parts of the day (in the morning / in the evening).

Examples with days and dates:
- Ich habe am Montag einen Termin. (I have an appointment on Monday.)
- Das Konzert ist am Samstag. (The concert is on Saturday.)
- Ihr Geburtstag ist am 3. Mai. (Her birthday is on May 3.)
- Die Prüfung ist am 12. Mai. (The exam is on May 12.)
- Wir sehen uns am ersten Januar. / Wir sehen uns am 1. Januar. (We’ll see each other on January 1.)
- Am Wochenende gehen wir oft wandern. (On the weekend we often go hiking.)

Parts of the day — habit vs. specific:
- "morgens / abends" (adverbs) = "in the mornings / in the evenings" (habitual): Ich arbeite morgens. (I work in the mornings.)
- "am Morgen / am Abend" (with am) often points to a specific morning/evening or the general time of day: Ich rufe dich am Morgen an. (I’ll call you in the morning.)

Notes on date forms:
- You will often see numbers for dates: am 3. Mai (written) or am dritten Mai (spoken/written in full). Both are correct.
- When you add the weekday and the date, you may see: "am Montag, dem 3. Mai" (very formal) or "am Montag, den 3. Mai" (common). To keep it simple, use "am [weekday]" or "am [date]".

Using "im" for months, seasons, years, centuries

What "im" means and when to use it

"im" is the contraction of in + dem and is used with:
months: im Januar, im Juli
seasons: im Sommer, im Winter, im Frühjahr/Frühling
years and full periods: im Jahr 2025, im 21. Jahrhundert
English equivalent: "in" (in July, in summer, in 2025).

Examples:
- Im Juli fahren wir nach Italien. (In July we are going to Italy.)
- Im Sommer ist das Wetter warm. (In summer the weather is warm.)
- Im Winter schneit es oft. (In winter it often snows.)
- Im Jahr 2025 ziehen wir um. / 2025 ziehen wir um. (In the year 2025 we will move.)
- Im 21. Jahrhundert verändern sich Technologien schnell. (In the 21st century technologies change fast.)

Combining "um", "am" and "im" in sentences

Put day/date first (with am) and the clock time with um: Das Konzert ist am Samstag um 19:30 Uhr. (The concert is on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.)
If you mention month or season too, use im for that: Im August fliegen wir nach Spanien; am 15.8. starten wir um 06:00 Uhr. (We fly in August; on Aug 15 we depart at 6:00 a.m.)
Examples:
Das Seminar findet am Freitag, dem 12. Juni, um 10 Uhr statt. (The seminar takes place on Friday, June 12, at 10 a.m.)
Im Winter treffen wir uns am Wochenende um 12 Uhr zum Brunch. (In winter we meet on weekends at noon for brunch.)
Am 1. Januar um Mitternacht stoßen wir auf das neue Jahr an. (On January 1 at midnight we toast the new year.)

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Wrong: *Ich komme am 8 Uhr.*

Correct: Ich komme um 8 Uhr. (Use um with clock times.)

Wrong: *Wir fahren am Januar weg.*

Correct: Wir fahren im Januar weg. (Use im with months.)

Wrong: *Wir treffen uns im Montag.*

Correct: Wir treffen uns am Montag. (Use am with weekdays.)

Wrong: *Ich bin im Abend zu Hause.*

Correct: Ich bin am Abend zu Hause. (Evening uses am.)

Wrong: *Ich warte um 3 Tage.*

Correct: Ich warte 3 Tage. / Ich warte in 3 Tagen. (Use "in drei Tagen" to mean "in three days"; you do not use um for multi-day periods.)

Why these mistakes happen
- Learners sometimes translate directly from English: English "in January" maps to German "im Januar" (OK), but English "on Monday" must be "am Montag" (not "in Montag").
- Remember the rough English equivalents: um = at, am = on/at (for days/dates), im = in.

Regional differences and other ways to say times

"halb acht" = 7:30 (this is standard in German but means "half of eight", not 8:30.)
Quarter expressions vary by region: say "Viertel nach sieben" (7:15) and "Viertel vor acht" (7:45) to be clear. In parts of southern Germany and Austria "Viertel acht" can mean 7:15 — so prefer "Viertel nach" and "Viertel vor" if you want to avoid confusion.
Writing vs speaking: Germans often write times in 24-hour format (20:00) and say "um 20 Uhr". In speech you can add "morgens / nachmittags / abends" to clarify AM/PM: "um 8 Uhr abends" (at 8 p.m.).

Quick reference cheat sheet

um + (time) = at — e.g. um 8 Uhr, um 15:30 Uhr, um Mitternacht.
am + (weekday / date / part of day) = on / at — e.g. am Dienstag, am 3. Mai, am Morgen, am Wochenende.
im + (month / season / year / century) = in — e.g. im April, im Herbst, im Jahr 2025, im 20. Jahrhundert.

Glossary (simple definitions)

Preposition: a small word that relates time or place to another word (in English: in, on, at).
Contraction: a short form made from two words (am = an + dem, im = in + dem).
Dative: a grammatical case German uses after some prepositions; am and im come from preposition + dative article (you don't need to change your English thinking—just learn the patterns).
Ordinal number: first, second, third (in German: erster, zweiter, dritter). You can say dates as either numerals (am 3. Mai) or ordinals (am dritten Mai).

Final tips:
- When in doubt, use full clear forms: "am [weekday] um [time]" or "im [Monat]". For formal writing use numerals and the 24-hour clock: "Das Treffen ist am 12.06. um 14:00 Uhr."
- Pay attention to regional time phrases (halb, Viertel). If unsure, say the exact minutes: "um 7:30 Uhr".

With practice (reading schedules, listening to announcements, and repeating example sentences) these patterns will become automatic. Good luck!