Prepositions
Prepositions of Place:
at, in, on
In general, we use:
- at for a POINT
- in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
- on for a SURFACE
|
at |
in |
on |
|
POINT |
ENCLOSED SPACE |
SURFACE |
|
at the corner |
in the garden |
on the wall |
|
at the bus stop |
in London |
on the ceiling |
|
at the door |
in France |
on the door |
|
at the top of the page |
in a box |
on the cover |
|
at the end of the road |
in my pocket |
on the floor |
|
at the entrance |
in my wallet |
on the carpet |
|
at the crossroads |
in a building |
on the menu |
|
at the entrance |
in a car |
on a page |
Look at these examples:
- Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
- The shop is at the end of the street.
- My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived
in Bangkok two hours late.
- When will you arrive at the office?
- Do you work in an office?
- I have a meeting in New York.
- Do you live in Japan?
- Jupiter is in the Solar System.
- The author's name is on the cover of the book.
- There are no prices on this menu.
- You are standing on my foot.
- There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
- I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford
Street in London.
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on
in these standard expressions:
|
at |
in |
on |
|
at home |
in a car |
on a bus |
|
at work |
in a taxi |
on a train |
|
at school |
in a helicopter |
on a plane |
|
at university |
in a boat |
on a ship |
|
at college |
in a lift (elevator) |
on a bicycle, on a motorbike |
|
at the top |
in the newspaper |
on a horse, on an elephant |
|
at the bottom |
in the sky |
on the radio, on television |
|
at the side |
in a row |
on the left, on the right |
|
at reception |
in Oxford Street |
on the way |
Prepositions of Time:
at, in, on
We use:
- at for a PRECISE TIME
- in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG
PERIODS
- on for DAYS and DATES
|
at |
in |
on |
|
PRECISE TIME |
MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS |
DAYS and DATES |
|
at 3 o'clock |
in May |
on Sunday |
|
at 10.30am |
in summer |
on Tuesdays |
|
at noon |
in the summer |
on 6 March |
|
at dinnertime |
in 1990 |
on 25 Dec. 2010 |
|
at bedtime |
in the 1990s |
on Christmas Day |
|
at sunrise |
in the next century |
on Independence Day |
|
at sunset |
in the Ice Age |
on my birthday |
|
at the moment |
in the past/future |
on New Year's Eve |
Look at these examples:
- I have a meeting at 9am.
- The shop closes at midnight.
- Jane went home at lunchtime.
- In England, it often snows in December.
- Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the
future?
- There should be a lot of progress in the next
century.
- Do you work on Mondays?
- Her birthday is on 20 November.
- Where will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard
expressions:
|
Expression |
Example |
|
at night |
The stars shine at night. |
|
at the weekend |
I don't usually work at the weekend. |
|
at Christmas/Easter |
I stay with my family at Christmas. |
|
at the same time |
We finished the test at the same time. |
|
at present |
He's not home at present. Try later. |
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these
common expressions:
|
in |
on |
|
in the morning |
on Tuesday morning |
|
in the mornings |
on Saturday mornings |
|
in the afternoon(s) |
on Sunday afternoons |
|
in the evening(s) |
on Monday evening |
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
- I went to London last June. (not
in last June)
- He's coming back next Tuesday. (not
on next Tuesday)
- I go home every Easter. (not
at every Easter)
- We'll call you this evening. (not
in this evening)
English Prepositions List
There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is
a very small number when you think of the thousands of other
words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words.
We use individual prepositions more frequently than other
individual words. In fact, the prepositions of, to
and in are among the ten most frequent words in
English. Here is a short list of 70 of the more common
one-word prepositions. Many of these prepositions have more
than one meaning. Please refer to a dictionary for precise
meaning and usage.
- aboard
- about
- above
- across
- after
- against
- along
- amid
- among
- anti
- around
- as
- at
- before
- behind
- below
- beneath
- beside
- besides
- between
- beyond
- but
- by
- except
- excepting
- excluding
|
|
|
- of
- off
- on
- onto
- opposite
- outside
- over
- than
- through
- to
- toward
- towards
- under
- underneath
- unlike
- until
- up
- upon
|
|