English Prepositions: In, On, At

English prepositions are quite a challenge for English learners. Mainly because they get mixed up when relating to their native languages and sometimes don’t make much sense if we translate them. That is why we decided to create this guide to show you the different circumstances you need to use them. There are many prepositions and multiple ways to apply them. We decided to focus this guide on those that create the most confusion: In, on, and at.

English prepositions can be used for different purposes. For instance, we can talk about time and place. In English, we primarily use in, on, and at to refer to them. However, there are other prepositions that we can recur to as well. Even though they may seem difficult to understand, prepositions follow a certain logic. We invite you to keep on reading to learn more about English prepositions and take a step further towards mastering the English language!

English Prepositions of Place

Knowing which preposition of place to use can seem a tricky task. However, we can find a certain logic as we decide whether to apply in, on or at. Of course, rules and reason have their exceptions, as it happens with all languages. And, I’ll be honest, it occurs even more in English. But this doesn’t mean English is difficult. In fact, this logic is quite simple to follow.

While a rule claims that the English language goes from general to specific, this rule may be complex to apply to all cases. That is why we will recur, as we said before, to a more logical way of thinking. In this way, you will understand how English prepositions work and apply them to your recently acquired vocabulary.

When Do We Use ‘In’ To Refer To Places?

When referring to a place, we use ‘In’ to talk about things contained between boundaries. This rule, for example, applies to the following cases:

• Containers such as a box, a purse, a building, a room:

I couldn’t find my glasses, and then I remembered I’d left them in the kitchen.

• Neighborhoods and cities like Little Italy, Beverly Hills, Buenos Aires, Santiago:

I lived in Argentina before we moved with my family to Los Angeles.

• Private transport, such as a car or a taxi:

We were in Bob’s car when we heard the news. It was terrible!

• Other expressions, such as:
  • Did you read about Messi’s transfer to PSG? It’s in today’s newspaper
  • My best friend is in It’s not that serious, though. (Note that, in this case, ‘in’ implies that the subject is a patient, and we don’t use an article).
  • I don’t need to turn my mobile off when I watch a movie there. I have no signal in that cinema. (This sentence refers to being inside the building)

You may also want to read: Conditional Sentences: The Best Guide You’ll Ever Find

When Do We Use ‘On’ To Refer To Places?

‘On’ can also refer to boundaries, but more specific ones. Here, we can apply our logic. As we saw before, we use ‘in’ for countries, cities, or neighborhoods. You can still dig into those locations and be more specific. In other words, you can break down (as in specify, we’re not breaking anything for real) a country, a city, or a neighborhood. Into what? Well, streets, for example. That’s why we use ‘on’ for:

• Streets and Avenues, such as Pennsylvania st., 3rd Ave. (without giving the specific address)

I live in a building on Collins Ave., in Miami, Florida.

• Public transport, like a bus, a train, a ship. This category is also known as ‘large vehicles’, and we can use logic to say that we need to climb stairs or a few steps to get to them.

I can’t hear you very well right now; I’m on the train heading to London.

• Surfaces, such as a table, the floor, a wall.

What a mess! All your toys are spread on the floor! Pick them up!

• Other expressions, such as:
  • I didn’t read the newspaper, but I saw the news about Messi and PSG on
  • Do you know any good restaurants in this city? Why don’t you check on the Internet?
  • We lived on a farm for some years; that’s why I always get up early in the morning.

When Do We Use ‘At’ To Refer To Places?

We use the English preposition ‘at’ to refer to specific locations or places where our activity is implicit. These places and activities can be permanent or routinary, or temporary. Let’s see this in detail:

• Specific places, such as home (not the building, but the space we call ‘home’), school, the airport.

I waited at the bus station for an hour before I realized there was a strike.

• A specific place inside a building like the door, the entrance, the counter, the table.

Note that ‘on the table’ is not the same as ’at the table’. While the first one refers to something placed on the surface, the other one implies the idea of sitting to perform an action, such as having dinner. In this case, you are sitting on a chair, for example, in front of the table.

Sam just texted me; he’s at the door waiting for you to go downstairs.

• Events, as for example, a concert, a meeting, a party.

I’m at a meeting right now; I’ll call you back later.

• Specific addresses, including both street or avenue and number. Note that in English, the number goes before the street name.

I live at 1314 Collins Ave, in Miami, Florida.

English Prepositions of Time

English prepositions of time are not very complex. If you could handle and understand the previous section on prepositions of place. In that case, you will understand how the English language works when referring to time. As a matter of fact, they work very similarly.

To make a reference to time, we also use in, on, and at in English. Depending on how much information we have or give, we will decide which preposition is the correct one to use. As we said before, we can also apply the “general to specific” rule we explained above.

When Do We Use ‘In’ To Refer To Time?

When referring to time, the English language uses ‘in’ to refer to periods that can be broken down. Remember what we said about countries, cities, and neighborhoods when we explained prepositions of place? Well, it works pretty much the same in this case. That’s why we use ‘in’ for:

• Centuries, decades, years. These periods are long if we compare them to a specific date. When we talk about them, we use ‘in’ because we mean that an event occurred sometime between that time-lapse.

Thomas Edison invented the light-bulb in 1880. (Yes, I know history too).

• We used a different category because we must understand that we use ‘in’ when we just state the month. We can’t, in other words, specify on which day of that month the event took place.

I’m very nervous; I’m sitting for my final exams in December.

• Moments of the day. When we refer to day moments, such as morning or afternoon, we use ‘in’.

I have to go to the doctor in the evening.

• Seasons are also introduced by ‘in’. We apply the same logic as we do with years because they refer to non-specific periods.

We always go to the beach in the summer.

• Time duration. When we anticipate events, we use ‘in’ to introduce how long it will take for them to happen.

I’m about to take a shower. I’ll be ready in 15 minutes.

When Do We Use ‘On’ To Refer To Time?

We use ‘on’ to refer to specific dates. This may be a little confusing at first, but you’ll see that there’s a certain logic to it. You can’t break down days, as what dates refer to. By using ‘on’, we are not talking about an extended period but a certain point in a month or week when something occurs. That’s why we use the English preposition ‘on’ for:

• Dates. When we refer to dates, we use both the month and, well, date. We can also state the number on its own if the month is implicit.

My birthday is on May 10th (This is actually true. Gifts are expected)

• Days of the week. We use ‘on’ to refer to days of the week, despite not mentioning the exact date. We also use it to talk about parts of the day on a specific day of the week.

Are you free on Sunday? Shall we go out?

No, I’m busy on Sunday. Could we do it on Friday night?

• Specific celebrations. This might sound quite tricky. We use the English preposition ‘on’ to refer to the day a particular popular festivity takes place. We often use the word ‘day’ after stating the celebration.

We always see my grandparents on Christmas Day.

When Do We Use ‘At’ To Refer To Time?

We use ‘at’ to refer to the most specific moment of the day or year. However, we can introduce this in different ways, as you will see here:

• Time. This is one of the most common ways to introduce a specific moment of the day. As we can’t break down days, we need to state a particular time.

We’re going to the cinema tonight. We’ll meet at 8 pm.

• Other time references. We can also refer to a specific time of the day by its name. Although we are not stating a particular moment, time is implicit.

We always have lunch at noon. That is a rule.

• Holidays. When we refer to holidays, but not the specific date they occur, we use ‘at’.

Americans usually have turkey at Thanksgiving.

• The weekend (not the music band, but the actual Saturday and Sunday one). Even though we refer to a period that includes two days, we use ‘at’ to talk about the weekend. Why? Well, a reason may be that weekends are holidays as well.

I know! We can take a road trip at the weekend!

What Is The Best Way To Learn English Prepositions?

English prepositions are not complex once you understand how they work. As we always suggest from Inmersivo, Empointe’s learning platform, the best way to master English is to practice. You can either recur to online exercises or ask your English teacher to help you out. If you still think you need something else, you can read our articles on the best ways to learn English.

Learning how to use the different English prepositions is crucial to take your English to the next level. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to receive more tips, news, and updates on English related to sport. Follow us on our social media to keep in touch with different ways of learning English. Thank you for reading! See you next time!