Prepositions

IN – ON – AT

The first thing I want you to recognize, and try your best to visualize as you learn these, there is a general flow with both time and location from general to specific. I`m going to explain it in the following way, first with time, then with location:

The TOP, which is BIGGER and more GENERAL (IN)

The MIDDLE, which is SMALLER and MORE SPECIFIC (ON)

The BOTTOM, which is SMALLEST and the MOST SPECIFIC (AT)

Prepositions of Time

IN- The pyramid’s TOP (wider), which is BIGGER and more GENERAL:

• Description: Bigger periods of time: Centuries, Decades, Years, Months
• Examples: in the 20^th century, in the 1980’s, in March, in the third week of April, in the future
• Exceptions: in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon

ON- The pyramid’s MIDDLE part, which is SMALLER and MORE SPECIFIC:

• Description: Days, or periods of time shorter than three days
• Examples: on my birthday, on Saturday, on the weekend (United States), on June 8^th
• Exceptions: on my lunch break, on time

AT- The pyramid’s BOTTOM (pointed), the SMALLEST, and the MOST SPECIFIC:

• Description: Specific times or small time periods.
• Examples: at 9:00 PM, at lunch, at dinner, at the start of the party, at sunrise, at the start of the movie, at the moment
• Exceptions: at night, at the weekend (England) 

Prepositions of Location

IN – The TOP (wider), which is BIGGER and more GENERAL:

• Description: In larger areas (countries, states, cities, neighborhoods)
• Examples: in the United States, in Miami, in my neighborhood
• Exceptions: in downtown (“I work in downtown”)

ON – The MIDDLE, which is SMALLER and MORE SPECIFIC:

• Description: a longer area, street, beach, river
• Examples: on Broadway Street, on the beach, on my street 

AT – The pyramid’s BOTTOM (pointed), the SMALLEST, and the MOST SPECIFIC:

• Description: the address or specific location, specific points.
• Examples: at 345 Broadway street, at the store, at my house

Prepositions of Placement

The mind map pyramid below explains TIME in the same way we did above (only this one is not inverted), but it also introduces prepositions PLACE/PLACEMENT, which we will focus on here.

IN – for enclosed spaces and personal modes of transportation

• Enclosed Space: in the kitchen, in the house, the water is in the glass
• Personal Modes of Transportation: get in the car, my friend is in the taxi

ON – for surfaces and public modes of transportation

• Surfaces: on the floor, on the wall, the book is on the table, on a page, I put on my clothes (my clothes are on my body)
• Public Modes of Transportation: on the bus, on the plane, on a boat, on a ship,
• Exceptions: on my motorcycle, on my bike (these are personal modes of transportation, but we use “on”)

AT – for specific point (the same as prepositions of location)

• at the bus stop, at the cinema, at the corner, at the top of the hill, at the mall

Here are some more examples for you how to use prepositions:

        

 

 

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