Prepositions of Place
Why do we say The shop is on Abbey Road . and not The shop is at Abbey Road?'
And why is it "She lives at 25 Abbey Road" , but not She lives in 25 Abbey Road'
Today I am going to explain the difference between the prepositions of place - AT on
and in , so you never make a mistake with them again. These prepositions are commonly
confused be learners but can be easily understood with my 1 2 3 trick to remember which preposition
to use. Firstly AT We can think of at as one-dimensional,
referring to a specific place or position in space.
When something is At a point, it is close to it but not touching it.
I think I heard someone AT the door. I'll meet you at the station. ( at the entrance
and not inside the station)
A point on a scale or a journey. Bake the cake at 200°C
Does this train stop at Birmingham?
With specific places/points in space Angie’s still at home.
Write your name at the top of the page. The index is at the front of the book.
With public places and shops
I studied Spanish at school. Shall I meet you at the hairdresser?
We bought some bread at the supermarket.
With addresses They live at 21, St John's Road.
With events I met her at last year’s conference.
Now let's look at ON. It is 2 dimensional referring to the position of something in
relation to a surface. With surfaces
The letter is on the desk. There was a beautiful painting on the wall.
The toy department is on the first floor. You’ve got a dirty mark on your jumper.
With roads and streets or other things that can be thought of as a line, for example rivers.
The chemist is on the corner of the HighStreet. Florence is on the river Arno.
It’s the first turning on the right.
Lastly IN. In is by contrast three-dimensional, referring to the position of something in
relation to the things that surround it. in is generally used for larger places
With geographical regions Driving in France is very straightforward.
Morzine is a small town in the mountains. With cities, towns and larger areas
Do you live in London?
With buildings/rooms and places that can be thought of as surrounding a person or object
on all sides I’ve left my keys in the office.
I swam in the sea today.
With containers The milk is in the fridge.
With liquids and other substances, to show what they contain
I take milk in my tea.
In general at is used for smaller, more specific places, so we say:
We arrived in Bristol an hour ago. But:
We arrived at the campsite an hour ago.
It all depends on how we as the speaker think of a place. In 1, 2 or 3 dimensions. Whether
they see the place as a specific point or in a larger surrounding area.
For instance if we think of a smaller place as three-dimensional, we can use in, e.g.
We’ve lived in this little village for many years.
Now, it's your turn. I live ….. 19 Broad Street.
At we use at for addresses.
There is a fly...... the ceiling. On remember this is a surface, it's 2 dimensional.
so it's on
Please take a seat...... the waiting room. In remember this is a 3 dimensional space,
you are surrounded by it so its IN.
Congratulations, you now know how to sue the prepostions of place, at, on and in.
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Prepositions of Place