prep. and time

[norwolf]

in phrases concerning articles i found a rule:
some phrases with zero articles, for example, towards evening, mean a point of time.
others with the, for example, in the evening, mean a period of time.
is it true?
thanks in advance

 

[Snowcake]

Hopefully, I'm able to answer your question.

in the evening, in the morning etc. means a specific time.

'the' is used with the nouns denoting the parts of the day.

When it comes to express the abstract idea of time but not the parts of the day, use the zero article.

They arrived at night.

I prefer travelling by day.


There are some more rules, but probably that's enough to get you started?

Regards,
Snowcake