AT - IN - ON

ENGLISH GRAMMAR HELP

TRICKY PREPOSITIONS

IN, ON, AT

EF - ENGLISH LIVE

English grammar can be tricky, and one area that many students find particularly difficult is prepositions. A preposition links nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence.
I’m sorry, I know they are hard to get your head around and I wish I could make them go away, but I can’t. So, my next best offer is to try and help you get comfortable with using them. Let’s do a quick review of when to use three of the most common ones: in, on, and at.

Preposition: IN

Use 1: When talking about time, we use in when referring to an unspecific time of the day, a month, a season or a year.
Here are some examples:

• I always brush my teeth in the morning.
• My birthday is in June.
• It’s always cold in winter.
• My brother was born in 1999.

Use 2: When talking about places, in is used to indicate a location or place. Here are a few examples:

• I used to live in Florida.
• The city of Bangkok is in Thailand.
• I am in my room.

Preposition: ON

Use1: The word on, when talking about time, is for specific dates and days.
Some examples are:

• He was born on September 24th.
• I go to the gym on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Use 2: When talking about places, on is used when we are speaking about a surface. Something is on the surface of something else.
For example:

• The papers are on the coffee table.
• I left the keys on the counter.

Preposition: AT

Use 1: When talking about time, at is used for a specific time.
So, for example:

• I will see you at 8:00 pm.
• My interview is at 3:00 pm.

Use 2: When talking about places, at is used to indicate a specific place.
Some examples are:

• We are meeting at the cafe.
• The football game is at the stadium.

Let’s practice with the next exercise!

1. I live ___ a house.

2. We will meet ___ 5:00 pm.

3. My birthday is ___ May 5th.

4. The last Olympics were held ___ 2012.

5. I usually study ___ Sundays.

6. My books were ___ this table, where did they go?

7. They left ___ 9:00 am.

8. We met ___ the park.

9. I like taking a nap ___ the afternoon.

10. It rains a lot ___ spring.

It will surely take time and practice to become an expert at using prepositions, but keep on trying and it will eventually stick!

In order to see the answers, slide the mouse on the box below:

• in, at, on, in, on, on, at, at, in, in.

Adapted from: https://englishlive.ef.com/en/blog/grammar/elementary/english-grammar-help-tricky-prepositions-in-on-at/. Accessed on April 2, 2024. Copyright © 1996 - 2024 © EF Education First Group. All rights reserved. EF English Live and Englishlive.ef.com are registered trademarks.