AT - IN - ON
- Prepositions of Place:
AT | IN | ON |
for a POINT | for a ENCLOSED SPACE | for a SURFACE |
at the corner/ the door | in the garden | on the wall/ the door |
at the bus stop | in London | on the ceiling |
at the top of the page | in a box | on the cover |
at the end of the road | in my pocket | on the floor |
at the entrance | in my wallet | on the carpet |
at the crossroads | in a building | on the menu |
at the front desk | in a car | on a page |
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
AT | IN | ON |
at home | in a car | on a bus |
at work | in a taxi | on a train |
at school | in a helicopter | on a plane |
at university | in a boat | on a ship |
at college | in a lift (elevator) | on a bicycle, on a motorbike |
at the top | in the newspaper | on a horse, on an elephant |
at the bottom | in the sky | on the radio, on television |
at the side | in a row | on the left, on the right |
at reception | in Oxford Street | on the way |
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- Prepositions of Time:
AT | IN | ON |
for a PRECISE TIME | for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS | for DAYS and DATES |
at 3 o'clock | in May | on Sunday |
at 10.30am | in summer | on Tuesdays |
at noon | in the summer | on 6 March |
at dinnertime | in 1990 | on 25 Dec. 2010 |
at bedtime | in the 1990s | on Christmas Day |
at sunrise | in the next century | on Independence Day |
at sunset | in the Ice Age | on my birthday |
at the moment | in the past/future | on New Year's Eve |
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
Expression | Example |
at night | The stars shine at night. |
at the weekend | I don't usually work at the weekend. |
at Christmas/Easter | I stay with my family at Christmas. |
at the same time | We finished the test at the same time. |
at present | He's not home at present. Try later. |
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
in | on |
in the morning | on Tuesday morning |
in the mornings | on Saturday mornings |
in the afternoon(s) | on Sunday afternoons |
in the evening(s) | on Monday evening |
When we say last, next, every, this we do NOT also use at, in, on.
