Basic Prepositions: Time and Place - at, in, on and to

Read the story below: I was born in Seattle, Washington on the 19th of April in 1961. Seattle is in the State of Washington in the United States. That was many years ago... Now, I live in Leghorn in Italy. I work at the British School. I sometimes go to a movie on the weekend. I meet my friends at the movie theater at 8 o'clock or later. In the summer, usually in August, I go home to visit my family in America. My family and I go to the beach and relax in the sun in the morning and in the afternoon! In the evening, we often eat at a restaurant with our friends. Sometimes, we go to a bar at night. Look at the chart below:
We use in with months - in May seasons - in winter country - in Greece city or town names - in New York times of the day - in the morning, afternoon or evening BUT at night! We use "on" with specific days - on Friday, on New Year's Day, on April the 19th American English - "on the weekend OR on weekends" We use "at" with specific times - at 7 o'clock, at 6.15 at night specific places in a city - at school British English - "at the weekend OR at weekends" We use "to" with verbs which show movement such as go and come - He goes to school. She returned to the store. They are coming to the party tonight.

IN

ON

AT

TO

The prepositions 'at', 'in', and 'on' are also referred to as locational prepositions. These prepositions are also used to denote time, especially 'in' and 'on'. These have specific rules governing their usage. When using these three as locational prepositions, there are certain rules that you need to follow. The preposition 'at' is used to indicate a point around which an incident or event is centred arrived at the bank.' It can be used to denote location, direction, or destination.

The preposition 'in' is used to indicate are or volume 'in the United States of America.' It is also used to indicate an activity or event inside a closed area. E.g. 'in the car'. When you use 'in', the fact of an enclosed space is implicit. The preposition 'on' is used to indicate 'surface'. It can be used to denote either a closed or an open surface 'on the table.' When using prepositions to denote time, we use the three we have discussed here at, in , and on, but from a different perspective. We use 'at' to denote an event at a precise time 'at 5 p.m.' We use 'in' to denote something in a month, year, century, etc., generally for long periods that are not too specific to a point 'in the month of September.' We use 'on' to denote an event or incident on a specific day or a date 'on Tuesday.' Anonymous

IN Use 'in' with spaces:

in a room / in a building in a garden / in a park

Use 'in' with bodies of water:

in the water in the sea in a river

Use 'in' with lines:

in a row / in a line in a queue

AT Use 'at' with places:

at the bus-stop at the door at the cinema at the end of the street

Use 'at' with places on a page:

at the top of the page at the bottom of the page

Use 'at' in groups of people:

at the back of the class at the front of the class

ON Use 'on' with surfaces:

on the ceiling / on the wall / on the floor on the table

Use 'on' with small islands:

I stayed on Maui.

Use 'on' with directions:

on the left on the right straight on

IMPORTANT NOTES In / at / on the corner We say 'in the corner of a room', but 'at the corner (or 'on the corner') of a street' In / at / on the front

We say 'in the front / in the back' of a car We say 'at the front / at the back' of buildings / groups of people We say 'on the front / on the back' of a piece of paper

Circle the correct answers. Q1: The label is _____ the bottle. in at on Q2: Jack is waiting _____ the bottom of the stairs. in at on Q3: Our seats are _____ the third row. in at on Q4: Turn left _____ the lights. in at on Q5: He's sitting ______ the chair next to the piano. in at on Q6: I met Jack _____ the street. in at on

Q7: He has a lot of beautiful pictures _____ the wall in at on Q8: I live _____ the fifth floor of my apartment building. in at on Q9: We waited for over an hour _____ the bus-stop. in at on Q10: Who is that woman _____ the photograph? in at on Q11: You will find an explanation _____ page 18. in at on Q12: Paris is _____ the river Seine. in at on

Q13: The instructions are _____ the back of the box. in at on Q14: What do you have _____ your hands? in at on Q15: Can you see who is _____ the door? in at on