Prepositions of Place
Prepositions of place can be difficult - here is some help about how to use 'at', 'in' and
'on' when you're talking about where things are (location).
Basics:
If something is contained inside a box or a wide flat area, we use ‘in’:
in the newspaper in a house
in a cup in a drawer
in a bottle in a bag
in bed in a car
in London in England
in a book in a pub
in a field in the sea
in my stomach in a river
If something is on a line or a horizontal or vertical surface, we use ‘on’:
on the table on the wall
on the floor on the window
on my face on a plate
on the page on the sofa
on a chair on a bag
on the river on a t-shirt
on the ceiling on a bottle
on a bike on his foot
If something is at a point, (it could be a building) we use ‘at’:
at the airport at the door
at the table at the bus stop
at the cinema at the top
at the bottom at the pub
at the traffic lights at the front
at the back at school
at university at the window
at the hospital at the piano
Here are some more common ones that don't really fit:
● on TV
● on the bus
● on a train
● on a plane
● on the radio
● at home
● at work
Prepositions of Place Exercise #1
Use (at, on, in) to complete the sentence.
1) He’s swimming in the river.
2) Where is Julie? She’s at school.
3) The plant is at the table.
4) There is a spider in the bath.
5) Please put those apples in the bowl.
6) Frank is on holiday for two weeks.
7) There are three pockets in this bag.
8) I read the story in the newspaper.
9) Lucy was standing at the bus stop.
10) I’ll meet you at the cinema.
11) She hung a picture in the wall.
12) Don’t sit in the table!
13) We stayed at home all weekend.
14) There’s nothing on TV tonight.
15) Where is Josh? He had to stay at work/school to finish
his project.
