adjectives
preposition
In, On, At of Place and Time
Preposition of Movement
Interested, successful, experienced,
talented, skilled
in
Lots of people are interested in Grand
Prix racing but I’m not.
responsible, good, eligible, grateful,
ready, thankful, suitable
for
Exercise is good for everyone.
worried, excited, serious, nervous
about
We’re really excited about our trip to
Argentina.
Preposition and noun
At, in, on – prepositions of place
At
At a point
We use at to refer to a point near something.
•
•
Can you see that car at the traffic light? (=The car is at a point near the
traffic light)
Who is that man at the door? (=The man is at a point near the door)
At the top of/at the bottom of/at the end of
We use at in the expressions at the top of, at the bottom of and at the end
of.
•
•
•
She is at the top of the stairs.
Please sign at the bottom of the page.
The new café is at the end of the street.
Group activities
We use at to refer to group activities like parties, concerts, and other events.
•
•
•
We were at the cinema.
I didn’t see you at Jackie’s party.
We met at a concert.
At + school/university/college
We normally use at with school, university and college.
•
•
He is at school every morning until 12.
I’m studying at Oxford University.
Be at home/work
We say be at home/at work (without the)
•
•
•
•
She’s at home.
She’s at the home.
I’ll be at work all morning.
I’ll be at the work all morning.
At the shop
We use at to refer to shops, restaurants, cafés, etc.
•
•
I’m at the bakery.
If you are at the chemist’s, can you buy some aspirin?
In
In a 3D space
We use in to refer to a position inside of a three-dimensional space.
•
•
The book is in the bag.
She is waiting in the classroom.
In a space with limits
We also use in for areas that have limits or boundaries, like continents,
countries, cities, regions, mountain ranges, ocean
•
•
We are in France.
I love the houses in the Alps.
In a car
We use in for cars and vans.
•
They are in the car.
In the water
We also use in when something is in the water: in the sea, in the river, in the
swimming pool, etc.
•
The kids have fun in the swimming pool.
In a picture, in a book
We also use in for things that are printed in books, pictures, documents, etc.
•
•
Who’s that woman in the picture?
Does it say anything about the concert in the newspaper?
On
On a surface
We use on to refer to a position on a surface.
•
The book is on the table.
On the first/second/etc. floor
We use on to refer to floors in a building.
•
The office is on the third floor.
On the right/left
We use on in the expressions on the right and on the left.
•
The office is on the third floor on the left.
On the bus/train/plane
We use on when we are using public transport (transportation that we can
walk on): on the bus, on a train, on a plane, etc.
•
She’s on the bus right now.
On TV/the radio/the Internet/a website
We use on when we read, see or learn something in the media.
•
•
I saw it on TV last night.
I learned it on the internet.
On the street/the border
We also use on for lines (including rivers, borders, streets, etc.).
London is on the River Thames.
The Pyrenees mountain range are on the border of Spain and France.
There's a market on James Street.
On the continent of Asia, a planet, an island, or a mountain.
Use on with a particular geographical feature, such as the continent of Asia, a
planet, an island, or a mountain.
on the continent of Asia
on Mars
on the island
on Mt. Everest of Jamaica
At, on and in – preposition of time
At
• with particular points on the clock:
I’ll see you at five o’clock.
• with particular points in the day:
The helicopter took off at midday and headed for the island.
• with particular points in the week:
What are you doing at the weekend?
• with special celebrations:
At the New Year, millions of people travel home to be with their families (but we say on your
birthday).
We don’t use at with the question What time …? in informal situations:
What time are you leaving? (preferred to At what time are you leaving?)
On
• with dates:
We moved into this house on 25 October 1987.
• with a singular day of the week to refer to one occasion:
I’ve got to go to London on Friday.
• with a plural day of the week to refer to repeated events:
The office is closed on Fridays. (every Friday) In informal situations, we often leave
out on before plural days:
Do you work Saturdays?
• with special dates:
What do you normally do on your birthday?
In
• with parts of the day:
I’ll come and see you in the morning for a cup of coffee, okay?
• with months:
We usually go camping in July or August.
• with years:
The house was built in 1835.
• with seasons:
The garden is wonderful in the spring when all the flowers come out.
• with long periods of time:
The population of Europe doubled in the nineteenth century.
At or on?
We use at to talk about public holidays and weekends, but when we talk about a particular
special day or weekend, we use on.
Compare
We never go away at the New Year because the
traffic is awful.
On New Year’s Day, the whole family gets
together.
I’ll go and see my mother at the weekend if the
weather’s okay.
The folk festival is always held on the last
weekend in July.
*Note that American English speakers usually say on the weekend.
In or on?
We use in with morning, afternoon, evening and night, but we use on when we talk about a
specific morning, afternoon, etc., or when we describe the part of the day.
Compare
I always work best in the morning. I often get
tired in the afternoon.
The ship left the harbour on the morning of
the ninth of November.
In the evening they used to sit outside and
watch the sun going down.
It happened on a beautiful summer’s
evening.
At or in?
In the night usually refers to one particular night; at night refers to any night in general:
I was awake in the night, thinking about all the things that have happened.
‘It’s not safe to travel at night,’ the officer said.
Prepositions of Movement list
across: movement from one side to the other side of something
•
It took us three days to drive across the desert.
•
The dog ran across the road and nearly got hit by a car.
around: movement passing something in a curved route, not going through it
•
A big dog was sleeping on the floor so she had to walk around it.
•
They walked around the town for an hour.
away from: indicating the point where a movement begins
•
The mouse ran away from the cat and escaped.
down: movement from a higher point to a lower point of something
•
They ran down the hill to the stream below.
•
He climbed down the ladder to the bottom of the well.
from: indicating the point where a movement begins
•
We flew from Bangkok to London.
•
The police took my driving licence from me.
into: movement to an enclosed space; movement resulting in physical contact
•
He got into the car and closed the door.
•
The car crashed into the wall.
off: movement away from (and often down from) something
•
Please take your papers off my desk.
•
The wineglass fell off the table and shattered on the floor.
on to, onto: movement to the top surface of something
•
They went up on to the stage.
•
Move the kettle onto the counter.
out of: indicating the enclosed space where a movement begins
•
Take your hands out of your pockets and help me!
•
He went out of the room to smoke a cigarette.
over: movement above and across the top or top surface of something
•
We are flying over the mountains.
•
The cat jumped over the wall.
past: movement from one side to the other side of something
•
We could see children in the playground as we drove past the school.
•
We gave the marathoners water as they ran past us.
to: movement in the direction of something
•
Could you give this to Kob please?
•
Does this train go to London?
through | thru (AmE): movement in one side and out of the other side of
something
•
The train goes through a tunnel under the hill.
•
Hey! You just went thru a red light!
towards | toward (mostly AmE): movement in the direction of something
•
The night sky got brighter as they drove toward the city.
•
At last she could recognize the person coming towards her.
under: movement directly below something
•
The mouse ran under the chair.
•
Submarines can travel under water.
up: movement from a lower point to a higher point of something
•
Jack and Jill ran up the hill.
•
The boat takes two hours going up the river and one hour coming down.