Prepositions of place: 'in', 'on', 'at'
Look at these examples to see how we use these prepositions.
Please put the book on the shelf.
They live in Helsinki.
You should keep milk in the fridge.
Mette is studying at the library.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We can use the prepositions in, on and at to say where things are. They go before nouns.
I am in the kitchen.
My dog likes sleeping on the sofa.
The children eat lunch at school.
in
We use in to talk about a place that is inside a bigger space, such as a box, a house, a city or a country.
The clothes are in the wardrobe.
The children are playing in the park.
There's a bookshop in the shopping centre.
My grandmother was born in Sweden.
We also use in with other physical locations such as:
in the world
in water / the sea / a river / a lake / a pool
in the mountains / the countryside / a valley / the forest
in a car / a taxi
on
We use on to talk about location on a surface.
The books are on the desk.
We live on the fifth floor.
There are pictures on the wall.
She likes to sit on the floor.
We also use on for some types of public transport.
He's on the bus now.
You can't make phone calls on a plane.
They go to school on the train.
We also use on for lines (including rivers, borders, streets, etc.) and islands.
London is on the River Thames.
The Pyrenees are on the border of Spain and France.
There's a market on James Street.
I'd love to live on the Isle of Wight.
at
We use at in many common phrases, especially when we are talking about a place for a specific activity.
I'm at work.
She's working at home today.
The children are at school.
See you at the train station!
They're at the supermarket.
I met him at a party.
We also use at for addresses or exact positions.
I live at 15 Craig Street.
She's sitting at a desk.
He's waiting at the entrance.
Please sit at the back of the room.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
In this sentence, the correct option is "because it is played inside the park."
Let’s play football in the park
Hi teacher
Let's play football (in or at )th park.
Which one is true or both this.
Hi 20414641,
I think both are perfectly fine here. At could mean inside or nearby (at the entrance or just outside, for example), but since you are playing football I don't think there is any ambiguity so you can use either.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I will meet my English teacher at the library
I have to keep these grammar lessons in my head
The dictionary is always on my desk
Good job, but you need an article ("an" or "the" .... )
------> I worked at the office.
Or
I worked at an office.
I'll meet my friends at the cafe in Hanoi on Friday.
Yes, right, Domisgay.
Correct prepositions.
Shetu Yogme.
Hullo teachers,
I would be grateful if you could help me with the below.
I was watching the BBC News with my friend. During the news programme we heard the below:
............as IKEA unveils its latest store on London's Oxford Street today.
My friend says in British English, it is always "in the street", so the above should be "in London's Oxford Street today".
(1) But I think the newsreader is right, because
(a) if a thing is between the left edge and the right edge of a road or street, we use "in" in British English.
(b) If it is located on or along the edge, then we can use either "on" or "in".
(c) If it is outside the edge but close to it, we use "on", which is the case regarding the position of the IKEA store mentioned above.
Do you agree with me on what I say in (a),(b) and (c) above?
(2) In the sentence read by BBC, should I have placed the fullstop between "today" and close inverted commas, or should I have placed the fullstop after the close inverted commas?
Thank you.
Hello Yornis,
When we talk about the street as an address or map location we say on with street names. This is true of buildings, statues and even moveable objects like cars:
I left the car on Buttermarket Street.
In is used most often, as you say in (a), to mean inside the boundaries of the street. It's used when we think of the street not as an address but as a physical space and so it's usually used with things that are located on the surface of the street and are non-permanent:
There's a lot of rubbish in Buttermarket Street today. Was there a parade or something?
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team