Preposition | Preposition of Place at, on and in Explanations

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

AT - IN - ON

General Information:

AT

We use at for a point:
at the window - at the entrance - at the door
at the end of the street - at the station - at the top

• Bill is waiting for you at the bus stop.

ON

We use on for a surface:
on the wall - on the ceiling - on the floor - on a page
on a cover

• Have you seen the notice on the notice board?

IN

We use in for an enclosed space:
in the garden - in the house - in London - in the water
in her bag - in a row - in a town

• There is nobody in the room. She lives in a small village.

Special Information:

AT

1. We say that someone is at an event:

at a party - at a pop concert - at a conference - at a meeting

• Tom is at a party.

2. We say at with buildings when we say where the event (film, concert,...) takes place:

• Where were you yesterday? At the cinema.
• The meeting took place at the headquarters.

3. We say at someone's house:

• We were at Bill's house last Thursday.

4. We say at for a place which is a part of our journey:

• We stopped at a very nice village. Does the train stop at Nashville?

ON

1. We use on with small islands:

• She spent her holiday on a small island.

2. We say that a place is on the coast / on a river / on a road:

• London is on the river Thames.
• Portsmouth is on the south coast of England.

IN

1. We say in when we talk about a building itself.

• The rooms of Tom's house are small.

2. We usually say in with towns and villages:

• His parents live in York.

Note these expressions:

AT
at home - at work - at school - at university - at college - at the station - at an airport - at the seaside - at sea (on a voyage) - at reception - at the corner of a street - at the back / front of a building / cinema / group of people, etc. - arrive at with other places or events


IN
in the newspaper - in bed - in hospital - in prison - in the street - in the sky - in an armchair (sit) - in a photograph - in a picture - in a mirror - in the corner of a room - in the back / front of a car - arrive in a country or town


ON
on a farm - on the left - on the right - on the ground floor - on the first, second,... floor - on the way - on the chair (sit) - on the radio - on television - on a horse - on the corner of a street - on the back / front of a letter / piece of paper etc.

See the exercise: Exercise 1


Source: english-4u.de