last night

Meaning

Refers to the night or evening of the day before today. It is one of the most common time expressions used to describe recent past events in daily conversations.

Examples

• I watched a great documentary on television last night.

  I watched a great documentary on television last night.

• Did you sleep well last night, or did the storm keep you awake?

  Did you sleep well last night, or did the storm keep you awake?

• We went out for dinner last night to celebrate her promotion.

  We went out for dinner last night to celebrate her promotion.

• I forgot to charge my phone last night, so the battery is dead now.

  I forgot to charge my phone last night, so the battery is dead now.

• The dog was barking loudly last night and woke up the whole neighborhood.

  The dog was barking loudly last night and woke up the whole neighborhood.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I slept late in the last night.

  ✓ I slept late last night.

  Do not use the preposition 'in' or the article 'the' before 'last night'. It functions directly as a time adverbial.

• ✗ Yesterday night we went to the cinema.

  ✓ Last night we went to the cinema.

  While 'yesterday morning' and 'yesterday afternoon' are correct, native speakers almost always use 'last night' instead of 'yesterday night'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I had a strange dream ___ about flying to the moon.

  💡 The night before today

  Show answer

  last night

• What time did you get home ___?

  💡 During the previous evening

  Show answer

  last night