ON, AT, IN

In general, we use (generalmente usiamo):

• at for a POINT (Un punto di riferimento)

• in for an ENCLOSED SPACE (spazio racchiuso)

• on for a SURFACE (superficie)

There is no one in the room. Non c’è nessuno nella stanza.

Who is that man standing at the bus stop? Chi è quell’uomo alla fermata
dell’autobus?
The little boy is playing on the beach. Il ragazzino sta giocando sulla spiaggia.

at in on
Point of reference Enclosed space Surface
at the corner in the garden on the wall
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
at the door in France on the door
at the top of the page in a box on the cover
at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor
at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
at the crossroads in a building on the menu
at the entrance in a car on a page

Notice the following expressions (fai attenzione alle espressioni seguenti):

In / at / on the corner
We say / noi diciamo:
'in the corner of a room', nell’angolo di una stanza.
but 'at the corner (or 'on the corner') of a street' all’angolo di una strada.
In / at / on the front
We say / noi diciamo:
'in the front / in the back' of a car. Nella parte anteriore /nella parte posteriore
della macchina
'at the front / at the back' of buildings / groups of people. Nella parte anteriore

4
 /nella parte posteriore di un edificio/di un gruppo di persone.
'on the front / on the back' of a piece of paper. Nella parte anterior e/nella parte
posteriore di un un foglio di carta.
Diciamo che un posto si trova/ We say that a place is:
On a river, on a road, on the coast, on the way to another place
Diciamo/ We say:
On a bus, on a train, on a plane, on a ship, on a bicycle, on a motorcycle, on a
horse,
but in a car, in a taxi.

We use 'in' with spaces.
Usiamo “in” con spazi
in a room / in a building
in a garden / in a park
We use 'at' with places.
Usiamo “at” con luoghi.
at the bus-stop, at the
door,
at the cinema,
at the end of the street
We use 'on' with
surfaces.
Usiamo “on” con
superficie.
on the ceiling / on the wall
/ on the floor, on the table
IN
Use 'in' with bodies of We use 'in' with lines.
water. Usiamo “in” con Usiamo “in” quando
riferimento all’acqua. parliamo di fila.
in the water, in the sea, in a row / in a line
in a river in a queue
AT
We use 'at' with places We use 'at' in groups of
on a page. Usiamo “at” people. Usiamo “at” con
con pagina. gruppi di persone.
at the top of the page at the back of the class
at the bottom of the page at the front of the class
ON
We use 'on' with small We use 'on' with
islands. Usiamo “on” directions. Usiamo “on”
con piccolo isole. con direzioni.
I stayed on Los Roques. on the left, on the right,
straight on

More place prepositions. Altre preposizioni di luogo.

Preposition Meaning Examples

above sopra The picture hangs above my bed.
below sotto My flat is below Peter’s.

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 around/round intorno We're sitting around the campfire.
behind dietro Our house is behind the supermarket.
among tra I like being among people.
Our house is between the supermarket and the
between tra
church.
beside A lato Our house is beside the supermarket.
by vicino He lives in the house by the river.
close to accanto Our house is close to the supermarket.
in front of Di fronte a Our house is in front of the supermarket.
near vicino Our house is near the supermarket.
Accanto, a
next to Our house is next to the supermarket.
lato
inside dentro You shouldn't stay inside the castle.
outside fuori Can you wait outside?
Opposto, di
opposite Our house is opposite the supermarket.
fronte
over sopra The cat jumped over the wall.
under sotto The cat is under the table.
in the middle of In mezzo a The table is in the middle of the room.

*Interactive Exercises
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7hzH2UNA2c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnqIVWkA4vQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLX9UqIo_kw&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g6PT9NgW2w

*Please note:
Listen carefully to the following videos in youtube, they speak about the
Place prepositions.
Ascoltate attentamente i seguenti video di youtube, essi parlano delle
Preposizioni di luogo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jE5NMRNAAs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaXTyFtQx9o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0-Y7-tnDK0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHmOHhl7saQ&feature=PlayList&p=09
FEFF5C9A859A40&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g6PT9NgW2w