Preposition Use I - IN, AT and ON
Prepositions of place
IN (ở trong)
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 lake, in a river
Use 'in' with lines:
- in a row, in a line, in a queue
Use 'in/at' for groups of people:
- in/at the back of the class, in/at the front of the class
(in is used with AE: at is used with BE)
AT (ở)
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
ON (ở trên)
Use 'on' with surfaces:
- on the ceiling, on the wall, on the floor, on the table
Use 'on' for small islands:
I stayed on Maui.
I lived on Phu Quoc.
Use 'on' with directions:
- on the left, on the right, straight on
IMPORTANT NOTES
in/at/on (referencing corners)
- We say in the corner of a room; but
- at/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
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Test Your Understanding
Now that you have studied the use of on, at and in as a prepositions of place, try the following quiz to test your understanding.
Use either in, at, or on for each sentence.
1. The label is ______ the bottle.
2. Jack is waiting ______ the bottom of the stairs.
3. Our seats are ______ the third row.
4. Turn left ______ the lights.
5. He's sitting ______ the chair next to the piano.
6. I met Jack ______ the street.
7. He has a lot of beautiful pictures ______ the wall.
8. I live ______ the fifth floor of my apartment building.
9. We waited for over an hour ______ the bus-stop.
10. Who is that woman ______ the photograph?
11. You will find an explanation ______ page 18.
12. Paris is ______ the river Seine.
13. The instructions are ______ the back of the box.
14. What do you have ______ your hands?
15. Can you see who is ______ the door?