What's the difference between "at night" and "in the night"?

Could you please give me some examples that the only one of them works and the other doesn't?

Question

What's the difference between "at night" and "in the night"?

Could you please give me some examples that the only one of them works and the other doesn't?

Answer

"Night" is special when it comes to prepositions. "In the night" suggests you are or should be sleeping. "At night" suggests you are or normally would be awake.
Otherwise, we usually use "in the" before times of the day: In the morning / afternoon / evening.

Answer

Both can be used. Depending on the context.

The sky is dark in the night time.
It was late at night
Early in the morning.
We ate dinner late at night.
I was driving my car late in the night/ late at night - can also be used.

Answer

Phil is right that "night" is treated differently from other extended time periods (such as "morning", "day", "afternoon"). If I take these two sentences:

"He did his work at night."
"He did his work in the night."

It's a very subtle difference in tone. The "at night" one to me seems to be simply stating the fact. The "in the night" one seems to be implying that other people might not be aware because they were sleeping.

Or another way of looking at it is that "at night" makes night seem like a moment in time (same as "at sunrise" or "at sunset") rather than as an extended period. But "in the night" makes night feel an extended period of time that you can operate within (same as "day" or "morning). In other words, using "in the night" makes it sound like some action is occurring during part of the night.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!