Prepositions of Place and Direction

1.1 Prepositions – at, in, on.

Prepositions of place can be difficult – here’s some help about using ‘at‘, ‘in‘ and ‘on‘ when you’re talking about where things are.

1.2 Basics:

At is used if something is at a point; a stage on a journey or a meeting place where we are not concerned about the building or other details as it is the meeting point is that is important:

• Meet me at the corner.
• The train stops at London.
• I was at the theatre last night.

In is used for position inside large flat areas and in three dimensional spaces:

• I read it in the newspaper.
• Let’s go for a walk in the woods.
• The car is in the car park.

On is used if something is on a line or part of a line:

• London in on the River Thames.
• We can stop for a rest on the way.

or a horizontal or vertical surface:

• Dinner’s on the table.
• Put the picture on the wall.

or if something is attached to something:

• He put the ring on her finger.
• Are there many oranges on the tree?

1.3 Points to consider

Public Transport:

We use on ( and off ) when we talk about travel using public transport: trains, buses, planes and boats.

• Get on the bus!
• We booked tickets on the 8:30 London to Brighton train.
• We went on board an hour before sailing.

We use in ( and out of ) when we talk about cars, private planes and small boats as the smallness gives a three dimensional feel.

• Get in the car!
• We sat in the rowing boat.

2. Sentences with prepositions of place and direction