At, in and on: prepositions of place

At, in and on: prepositions of place

We use at to talk about a place we think of as a point rather than an area, and about an event where there is a group of people:

• I arrived at New Street Station at 7.30.
• We last met at the conference in Italy.
• We were waiting at the far end of the room.
• There were very few people at Joan’s party.

We use on to talk about a position touching a flat surface, or on something we think of as a line such as a road or a river:

• Is that spider on the ceiling?
• London is on the river Thames.

We use in to talk about a position within a larger area, or something within a larger space:

• Italy is in Europe.
• She looked again in her bag, and she found her keys.

at

at the bus stop

at home

at work

at the door

at the window

at the top

at the bottom

at the end

at the church

at the traffic lights

at the roundabout

at a concert

at a football match

on

on a bus / train / plane

on the left / right

on the wall

on the door

on the table

on the floor

on a page

on an island

on her nose

on the beach

on the ground

on a map

on the menu

in

in a car / taxi

in King Street

in a room

in a building

in the garden

in your hand

in a small village

in the mountains

in the sea / river

in Venice

in England

in the world

in a book

Compare in and at:

• There were a lot of people in the shop.
• Go along this road, then turn left at the shop

Compare in and on:

• There is some water in the bottle.
• There is a label on the bottle.

Compare at, on and in:

• There is somebody at the door.
• There is a notice on the door.
• There is a key in the door

Complete the sentences with in, at and on.

• Write your name _______ the top of the page.
• I like that picture hanging _______ the wall _______ the kitchen.
• There was an accident _______ the crossroads this morning.
• I wasn’t sure whether I had come to the right office. There was no name _______ the door.
• _______ the end of the street there is a path leading to the river.
• You’ll find the sports results _______ the back page of the newspaper.
• I wouldn’t like an office job. I couldn’t spend the whole day sitting___ a desk.
• My brother lives ___a small village ____the south-west of England.
• The man the police are looking for has a scar _______ his right cheek.
• The headquarters of the company are _______ Milan.
• Nicola was wearing a silver ring _______ her little finger.

Complete the sentences with in, at and on.

• Write your name AT the top of the page.
• I like that picture hanging ON the wall IN the kitchen.
• There was an accident AT the crossroads this morning.
• I wasn’t sure whether I had come to the right office. There was no name ON the door.
• AT the end of the street there is a path leading to the river.
• You’ll find the sports results ON the back page of the newspaper.
• I wouldn’t like an office job. I couldn’t spend the whole day sitting AT a desk.
• My brother lives IN a small village IN the south-west of England.
• The man the police are looking for has a scar ON his right cheek.
• The headquarters of the company are IN Milan.
• Nicola was wearing a silver ring ON her little finger.

Complete the sentences with in, at and on.

It can be dangerous when children play _______ the street.

• If you walk to the end of the street, you’ll see a small shop __the corner.
• Is Tom _______ this photograph? I can’t find him.
• My office is ___the first floor. It’s ___the left as you come out of the lift.
• We normally use the front entrance but there’s another entrance _______ the back.
• A: Is there anything interesting _______ the paper today?
• B: Well, there’s an unusual photograph _______ the back page.
• I love to look up at the stars _______ the sky at night.
• (in a restaurant) ‘Where shall we sit?’‘Over there, _______ the corner.’
• When I’m a passenger in a car, I prefer to sit _______ the front.
• It’s a very small village. You probably won’t find it _______ your map.
• Paris is _______ the river Seine.

Complete the sentences with in, at and on

• I didn’t see you ___the party on Saturday. Where were you?
• It was a very slow train. It stopped _______ every station.
• I don’t know where my umbrella is. Perhaps I left it _______ the bus.
• Shall we travel _______ your car or mine?
• The exhibition _______ the Museum of Modern Art finished on Saturday.
• We stayed ____a very nice hotel when we were _______ Amsterdam.
• There were fifty rooms _______ the hotel.
• Tom is ill. He wasn’t ___work today. He was ____ home ____bed.
• I wasn’t in when you phoned. I was __ my sister’s house.
• It’s always too hot ___my sister’s house. The heating is always on too high.
• I haven’t seen Kate for some time. I last saw her __ Dave’s wedding.
• Paul lives __ London. He’s a student __ London University.

Preposition + noun

There are many expressions formed by a preposition + noun, and sometimes a preposition is used with a particular meaning in a number of expressions, so they are very common.

• A book by Stephen King, a film by Steven Spielberg, a song by Elton John.
• You can go for a walk, for a drive, for a run, for a swim.
• You can go in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening (but at night).
• You can travel by car, by plane, by bus, by coach, by train, by taxi (but on foot).
• I heard it on the radio; I saw it on TV; I spoke to her on the phone (but I read it in the newspaper, in a magazine).
• The man in the dark suit (= wearing the dark suit); the woman in the red dress.

Fixed expressions

Sometimes it is difficult to know why a particular preposition is used, and you must learn these as fixed expressions.

• I took his pen by mistake. (= I thought it was my pen)
• I did all the work by myself. (= on my own; without help from others)
• The shoes are made by hand. ( = not by machine)
• The workers are on strike. (= they refuse to work because of a problem over pay, hours etc.)
• I met them by chance. (= it wasn’t planned - it was luck)
• The children are on holiday. (= they are having a holiday)
• He broke the plate by accident. (= he did not want to do it - it was an error / mistake)
• She could not talk to me for long because she was in a hurry. (= she had to go quickly - she didn’t have much time)
• He broke the plate on purpose. (= he wanted to do it and intended to do it)
• There are two million out of work. (= without a job)
• There were at least fifty people at the party. (= a minimum of 50)

In time or on time?

Sometimes two prepositions can be used with the same noun, but the meaning is different.

• Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always arrive on time. (= at 8.30)
• Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always get there in time. (= before 8.30; I’m not late)
• In the end we went home. (= finally, after a long period)
• At the end of the book they get married.
• The two men are in business. (= they are businessmen)
• The two men are in Germany on business. (= they are there for work and not for a holiday)
• I’ll see you in a moment. (= very soon)
• I can’t speak to you at the moment. (= right now)

Complete these sentences with the correct preposition

1 I saw it ......... TV. 11 I went .......... the afternoon.

2 They came .......... car. 12 He came .......... foot.

3 They are all ......... strike. 13 The clothes are made ...hand.

4 He is here .......... business. 14 She broke it ........ accident.

5 I did it .......... my own. 15 He did it .......... purpose.

6 It was written .......... Goethe. 16 I’ll see you ... a moment.

7 We went .......... a walk. 17 I’m very busy ... the moment.

8 I read it .......... a magazine. 18 It’s very quiet.......... night.

9 He’s .......... holiday this week. 19 We met .......... chance.

10 She took it.......... mistake. 20 She’s .......... least 25 years old.

Complete these sentences with the correct preposition

1 I saw it ON TV. 11 I went IN the afternoon.

2 They came BY car. 12 He came ON foot.

3 They are all ON strike. 13 The clothes are made BY hand.

4 He is here ON business. 14 She broke it BY accident.

5 I did it ON my own. 15 He did it ON purpose.

6 It was written BY Goethe. 16 I’ll see you IN a moment.

7 We went FOR a walk. 17 I’m very busy AT the moment.

8 I read it IN a magazine. 18 It’s very quiet AT night.

9 He’s ON holiday this week. 19 We met BY chance.

10 She took it BY mistake. 20 She’s AT least 25 years old.

Complete the sentences. Each time use at, on or in + one of the following:

the evening about 20 minutes 1492 Christmas the moment 21 July 1969 the 1920s the same time Sundays the Middle Ages 11 seconds night

• Columbus made his first voyage from Europe to America ...
• In Britain most people do not work ...
• If the sky is clear, you can see the stars ...
• After working hard during the day, I like to relax ...
• The first man walked on the moon ...
• It’s difficult to listen if everyone is speaking ...
• Jazz became popular in the United States ...
• I’m just going out to the shop. I’ll be back ...
• (on the phone) ‘Can I speak to Clare?’ ‘I’m afraid she’s not here ...’
• In Britain people send each other cards ...
• Many of Europe’s great cathedrals were built ...
• Bob is a very fast runner. He can run 100 metres ...

Put in at, on or in where necessary. Leave an empty space (-) if no preposition is necessary.

• I’ll see you ... ... ... Friday.
• I’ll see you ... ... ... next Friday.
• What are you doing ... ... ... Saturday?
• What are you doing ... ... ... the weekend?
• They often go out ... ... ... the evenings.
• They often go out ... ... ... Sunday evenings.
• Do you work ... ... ... Wednesdays?
• Do you work ... ... ... every Wednesday?
• We usually have a holiday ... ... ... the summer.
• We often have a short holiday ... .... Christmas.
• Pauline got married ... ... ... 1991.
• Pauline got married ... ... ... 18 May 1991.
• Chris is getting married ... ... ... this year.

Put in at, on or in.

• Mozart was born in Salzburg ... 1756.
• I haven’t seen Kate for a few days. I last saw her ... Tuesday.
• The price of electricity is going up ... October.
• I’ve been invited to a wedding ... 14 February.
• Hurry up! We’ve got to go ... five minutes.
• I’m busy just now but I’ll be with you ... a moment.
• Jenny’s brother is an engineer but he’s out of work ... the moment.
• There are usually a lot of parties ... New Year’s Eve.

• I hope the weather will be nice ... .the weekend.
• ... ... ... Saturday night I went to bed ... 11 o’clock.
• I don’t like travelling ... night.
• We travelled overnight to Paris and arrived ... 5 o’clock ...the morning.
• The course begins ... 7 January and ends sometime ...April.
• It was quite a short book and easy to read. I read it ... a day.
• I might not be at home ...Tuesday morning but I’ll probably be there ... the afternoon.
• My car is being repaired at the garage. It will be ready ...two hours.
• The telephone and the doorbell rang ...the same time.
• Mary and Henry always go out for a meal ... their wedding anniversary.
• Henry is 63. He’ll be retiring from his job ... two years’ time.