More prepositions AT, IN, TO and ON

Dear students,

As I told you before this is a post about prepositions. A lot of ESL students have problems using preposition. That's why I have decided to write this post for you.

Irena

Yesterday we learned some prepositions with place. Today I'd like you to review everything and practice these prepositions. Here are some videos. Please, watch them and review the prepositions on, in and at.

First, watch these videos. There are 3 parts of it, and all of them are about prepositions.

For Spanish speaking students there is a good video about prepositions. So, Hispanic students, please watch it. It will help you to understand prepositions better.

There is some more information about prepositions here. Please, use this link to get there.Just click on blue words.

More information about prepositions

Now, here are some exercises you can practice to improve your usage of prepositions.

Exercise 1 

Exercise 2 

Exercise 3 

Exercise 4 

To understand the meaning of the prepositions and see some examples of them, look at this  box.

English Preposition	Usage	Examples
above	higher than something	a photo above the sofa
across	getting to the other side getting over something getting to the other side	walking across a road walking across a bridge swimming across the river
after	one follows the other	run after something or someone after you sir
among	in a group	among a crowd of people
around	in a circular	sitting around, around a campfire
at	meaning next to, by an object for table for events place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work)	at the tree, at the bus stop at the table at a festival, at a birthday party at the cinema, at school, at work
behind	at the back of	The house behind the cinema
below	lower than something else but above ground	Fish swim below the surface of the water.
between	on each side	Your nose is between your two ears.
by, next to, beside	left or right of somebody or something	He is standing by / next to / beside her.
close to	near	Stay close to me so you don’t get lost.
down	from high to low	I drove down the hill.
from	in the sense of where from/ the place where it starts	A fish from the river. I’m from Ireland.
in	room, building, street, town, country book, paper etc. car, taxi picture, world	in the kitchen, in London in the book, in the paper in the car, in a taxi in a picture, in the world
in front of	further forward than another person or thing	He is standing in front of the car.
inside	in something/opposite of outside	The toy is inside the box.
into	enter a room / a building	go into the kitchen / the house
near	close to	Stay near me so you don’t get lost.
off	away from something	The baby threw his dinner off the table.
on	attached for a place with a river being on a surface for a certain side (left, right) for a floor in a house for public transport for television, radio	the picture on the wall Paris is on the Seine. on the table on the left, on the right on the second floor on the bus, on a plane on TV, on the radio
onto	movement to the top of something	The cat jumped onto the table.
opposite	on the other side	Our house is opposite the cinema.
out of	leaving something	She got out of the swimming pool because she was very cold.
outside	out of something/the opposite of inside	Put the cat outside before you go to bed.
over	covered by something else meaning more than getting to the other side (also across) overcoming an obstacle above something	Wear a cardigan over your blouse. over 18 years old walk over the bridge/walk across the bridge climb over a wall The cat jumped over the table.
past	going near something or someone	It was raining but she drove past me
around	in a circular	sitting around/around a campfire
through	something with limits on top, bottom and the sides going inside something from one side to another from the beginning to the end of something connected by telephone because of someone or something	She escaped through the hole in the wall. We went through the tunnel. We traveled through the night. I tried to phone you but I couldn’t get through. He got that job through her mother as she is the supervisor.
to	movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed	go to her, go to the shop go to London / Ireland go to bed
towards	movement in the direction of something (but not necessary directly to it)	We walked towards the city.
under	on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else	the shoe is under the bed
up	from low to high	I climbed up the mountain.

Here is some more information about prepositions AT, IN TO and ON.
General Information:  AT and ON



We use AT for a point.
We use ON or a surface.

at the window
at the entrance
at the door on the wall

on the ceiling
on the floor
on a page

at the end of the street
at the station 
at the top on a cover

Bill is waiting for you at the bus stop.
Have you seen the notice on the notice board?


General Information: IN

We use IN for an enclosed space

in the garden
in the house
in London
in the water
in her bag
in a row
in a town

There is nobody in the room.
She lives in a small village.


Special Information: AT

We say that someone is at an event.
We say at with buildings when we say where the event (film, concert,...) takes place:

at a party
at a pop concert
at a conference
at a meeting

Where were you yesterday? At the cinema.
Tom is at a party.
The meeting took place at the headquarters.


We say at someone's house.
We say at for a place which is a part of our journey.

We were at Bill's house last Thursday.
We stopped at a very nice village.
Does the train stop at Nashville?

General Information: ON

We use on with small islands.
We say that a place is on the coast / on a river / on a road:

She spent her holiday on a small island. London is on the river Thames.
Portsmouth is on the south coast of England.

General Information: IN

We say in when we talk about a building itself.
We usually say in with towns and villages:

The rooms in Tom's house are small.
His parents live in New York.



Note these expressions: AT

at home
at work
at school
at university
at college
at the station
at an airport
at the seaside
at sea (on a voyage)
at reception
at the corner of a street
at the back / front of a building / cinema / group of people, etc.
arrive at with other places or events



Note these expressions: IN

in the newspaper
in bed
in hospital
in prison
in the street
in the sky
in an armchair (sit)
in a photograph
in a picture
in a mirror
in the corner of a room
in the back / front of a car
arrive in a country or town



Note these expressions: ON

on a farm
on the left
on the right
on the ground floor
on the first, second,... floor
on the way
on the chair (sit)
on the radio
on television
on a horse
on the corner of a street
on the back / front of a letter / piece of paper etc.


TO, INTO, BY


We say go / come / travel / fly / walk / return / drive / have been etc. TO a place or event.
We say go into / come INTO etc. = enter a room / building etc.

Last year we flew to London.
We went to work at seven.
He opened the door and went into the room.


BY

We say by to say how we travel.

We went to Paris BY plane.
I usually go to work by bike / by car / by underground / by bus


but (please, pay attention!)

we say: ON foot
we cannot use BY if you say my car / the train / a taxi

Then use IN for taxis and cars.
Then use ON for bike / and public transport.

 

Here there is some useful information about this subject. Please, read carefully.

Additional Information (click here) 

Here are some more Exercises. Click on them and do, please.

Ex. 1

Ex. 2 

Ex. 3 

Ex. 4 

Ex. 5 




Here are some more prepositions - Prepositions of Place. Please, look at the pictures and try to understand their meaning. Under each of the pictures there are some examples - a question and answers. Read carefully.

Where is the ball?

1. It's in the box.

2. It's on the box.

3. It's under (or below) the box.

4. It's next to (or beside) the box.

5. It's behind (or in back of) the ball.

6. It's in front of the box.

7. It's between the boxes.

Where is the mouse?

1. The mouse is under (or below) the box.

2. The mouse is over (or above) the box.

3. The mouse is in (or inside) the box.

4. The mouse is on the box.

5. The mouse is in front of the box.

6. The mouse is behind (or in back of)the box.

7. The mouse is next to (or beside) the box.

To make the picture bigger (or larger), please, click on it. Look at all additional prepositions and write sentences with each of them.

Study this picture. It has more prepositions.

Hope, you've learned all of these prepositions!
Check yourselves.

Good luck!

Enjoy learning prepositions!

Here are 2 exercises to practice more prepositions:

Ex.1

Ex.2