IN ON AT – When do I use these PREPOSITIONS? (with video!)

Do you ever ask yourself:

When do I use IN, ON and AT?

What’s the difference between IN, ON, and AT?

This post is for you!

Don’t worry, we are going to look at IN, ON and AT in four simple steps.

If you’re a more visual learner, watch the video! If you prefer reading, keep going…

 

 

 

1.POSITION

2.LOCATION 

3.TIME 

4.TRANSPORTATION 

 

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Position

We use IN when we speak about being INSIDE.

Mr. Jones is not IN his office at the moment. Can I take a message?

If you’re IN a library, you must be quiet.

Would you like to come IN (my house) for some coffee?

We use ON when we speak about being ON TOP.

Can you grab my phone? It’s ON the bed.

Hey, you stepped ON my shoe.

It was so embarrassing. A bird pooped ON my head!

We use AT when we speak about a location where there is an activity.

I did a lot AT work today.
What’s the activity? Work.

I spent 4 hours AT the gym.
What’s the activity? Working out.

I had a great time AT your birthday party.
What’s the activity? Having fun with friends.

Meet me AT the bar at 11 PM. What’s the activity?
Meeting a friend and having drinks.

My children are AT school now.
What’s the activity? Learning and studying.

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It’s important to remember that:

AT is the location in general where we do an activity.

IN is literally inside the building.

If a friend says, I’ll meet you AT the café, it could be INSIDE or OUTSIDE. You will need to clarify with your friend.

If a friend says, I’ll meet you IN the café, I know to go INSIDE.

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LOCATION – geographical

We use IN when we speak about:

countries: I live IN Spain/Germany/the USA.

cities: I live IN Bristol/Napoli/Paris.

neighbourhoods/areas: I live IN (the) Bronx/Clifton/Bellingham.

directions: I live IN the north/south/east/west.

 

We use ON when we speak about:

streets and roads: My school is located ON High Street. / I used to live ON Reno Road.

 

We use AT to speak about:

A specific address: I live AT 15 Baconburn Road, Bristol.

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TIME

IN + …

• centuries – I love reading books set IN the 1800s/18th Century.

• decades – I think music IN the 1970s was the best.

• years – I was born IN 1995.

• months – I can’t believe the weather has been so hot IN April! Normally it’s cold and wet.

• afternoon/morning – I usually go to the gym IN the morning.

• seasons – My family usually goes on holiday IN (the) summer.

• future start – I go on holiday IN 5 days. The concert starts IN 20 minutes. I hope to have children IN a few years.

 

ON + …

days of the week – My birthday is ON Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday etc.

(phrases with ‘day’) – I love drinking hot chocolate ON a cold day. / Are you doing anything ON Valentine’s Day? 

dates – My birthday is ON the 22^nd of February.

 

AT + …

specific time – Okay, I’ll see you AT 4 PM.

night –  I don’t sleep very well AT night. I keep thinking about work.

noon (12 PM)- Let’s meet AT noon.

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TRANSPORTATION 

We use IN and ON depending on the transportation:

 

You can think about it like this: 

We use IN for transportation which you cannot move in. car, taxi, truck…

We use ON for transportation which you can walk around on. bus, plane, train…

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See you next time! Arnel