On Friday, for lunch, etc

A Introduction

Henry: Don't forget we're meeting on Friday for lunch.

Sarah: Of course I haven't forgotten. But remind me where we're eating.

Henry: The Riverside Restaurant. You've been there before. Claire was with us. It was the Friday before she went to Australia. We had a good lunch.

Phrases of time are usually without a/an or the.

We're meeting on Friday for lunch.

But we use a/an or the if there is a phrase or clause after Friday, lunch, etc.

It was the Friday before she went to Australia.

We normally use a/an or the if there is an adjective.

We had a good lunch.

B Years, seasons and months

I was born in 1974. That was the year I was born.

We play cricket in summer/in the summer.

Winter always depresses me. It was the winter of 1995 when things started to go wrong for the company.

I start the course in September.

C Special times

We go away at Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas.

Easter is early this year. I started work here the Easter before last.

I'll be home for Thanksgiving.

D Days of the week

Yes, Thursday will be convenient. The storm was on the Thursday of that week.

I'll see you on Tuesday evening. We went surfing at the weekend.

E Parts of the day and night

I can't sleep at night. It's warmer in/during the day.

I prefer to travel by day/by night. Someone got up in/during the night.

I must get to bed before midnight. We're meeting in the morning.

We were on the beach at sunset. They arrived at the hotel in the evening.

I hope to get there before dark. It was a beautiful sunset.

I couldn't see in the dark.

F Meals

I'll see you at breakfast. We had a quick breakfast.

We have supper at about eight. The supper David cooked was excellent.

I'm going out after lunch. The meal was very nice.

We'll need an evening meal.