Many of our courses at Espresso English include homework that you can send in and get feedback and correction on your answers – one of those is our Advanced Grammar Course.
Don’t say “Today morning” – Say “This morning”
It’s really confusing, because we can say “yesterday morning” and “tomorrow morning,” like this:
- Yesterday morning I went to the gym.
- Tomorrow morning I’ll go shopping.
But when it comes to today, we DON’T say “today morning” – instead, we say “this morning.”
Here are some examples:
- This morning I had a meeting with my boss.
- I woke up really early this morning.
- Did you remember to take out the trash this morning?
(In these cases, we’re speaking in the afternoon or evening of the same day – so it’s still today, it’s still “this morning,” but the verbs are in the past – had, woke, did)
We can also say “this morning” or “later this morning” when we’re speaking early in the morning of the same day, and the event is still in the future.
So I might wake up and have breakfast with my husband around 7 AM, and say these things:
- This morning I have a meeting with my boss
(still in the future – it’s scheduled for 9:00) - I’m going to take the car to the mechanic later this morning
(I’m going to do this at 10:30) - Please remember to take out the trash this morning!
(Do it sometime before noon or before lunch)
But again, we always say “this morning” and never “today morning” when talking about the morning hours in the same day we’re speaking.
Another question English learners ask:
“Is AM morning?”
Yes, times with “AM” are in the morning, anytime before 12:00 mid-day. I wake up at 7:30 AM. What time do you wake up? Say the time with “AM.”
Why do we use AM for morning times? Well, AM stands for the Latin words ante meridiem, meaning “before mid-day.”
Watch out for this mistake – saying 6 AM in the morning. That’s not correct!
We can say “6 AM” or “6 in the morning” but not both together. Here are some examples:
- This morning I had a yoga class at 9 AM.
- Today I woke up at 6 in the morning. (we can say “today” at the beginning of the sentence, and then “6 in the morning” later in the sentence, but again we don’t say “today morning” together)
- Tomorrow morning I’m meeting my friend for breakfast at 8 AM.
- Yesterday a telemarketer called me at 7 in the morning!
“Which is correct: IN the morning or ON the morning?”
We use in the morning to talk about mornings in general, or tomorrow morning:
- I like to exercise in the morning. (mornings in general)
- If you stay up watching TV past midnight, you’ll be tired in the morning. (tomorrow morning)
We use on the morning to talk about a specific date:
- The rocket was launched on the morning of October 1.
- Our wedding will be held on the morning of June 15.
As well as with days of the week (in this case we don’t use “the”):
- I have a dentist appointment on Monday morning.
- On Saturday morning there’s a parade in the city center.
You can check out our lesson to learn when to use in, on, and at for both times and places!
Review
- We always say “this morning” and never “today morning.”
- When talking about a specific time before mid-day, we can say “6 AM” or “6 in the morning” but not “6 AM in the morning.”
- Say “in the morning” for mornings in general or tomorrow morning; say “on the morning of…” + a specific date, and “on (day of the week) morning.”
Again, if you want personal feedback on your writing from the Espresso English teaching team, you can join our Advanced English Grammar Course.
That’s all for today – I’ll talk to you next time!
