Supplementary Material

Use of IN, ON and AT

(Supplementary material for Beta Intermediate and Upper Modules)

There are no rules to indicate the use of a preposition in a particular situation, but there are certain combinations
we must always use.

In / On / At (PLACE)

IN ON AT
in South America on the third floor at 77 Cruz del Sur St.
in Chile on ... St. /... Av. at the Sheraton / hotel
in Santiago on the right /left at UCLA / the university
in Las Condes on a farm at the end
in the East on an island at the top / bottom
in prison on the hill at school
in bed on the lake at church
in town on the ocean at home
in a car on a bus at work
in a taxi on the subway at sea
in a row-boat on a ship at somebody's house
in a helicopter on a plane at a distance

In / On / At (TIME)

IN ON AT
in the morning on Saturday at 5 o'clock
in the afternoon on Christmas at sunrise / dawn
in the evening on December 25th. at noon
in July on weekends at dusk
in summer on his wedding anniversary at night
in 1995 on Monday morning at midnight
in the 20th century at the age of twelve
in two days at 18 (years old)
in the next few days at breakfast
in an hour at lunch
in a hurry at dinner / supper

In / On /At (OTHERS)

in a blue dress / in black / in ink / in love /in turn / in half / in tears / in pieces / in trouble
on the radio / on TV / on the phone
at war / at peace

EXERCISE 1. Fill in the blanks using at, in or on.

1. My sister is home.

2. Meet me noon Thursday.

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3. I was born London, but I live Lyton, a village Devonshire.

4. Cats like to sit the roof.

5. We're good health, because we get up sunrise.

6. New Year's is January 1st.

7. His office is 4499 Apoquindo Av. the 3rd floor.

8. The program is 8 o'clock channel 13.

9. The woman dressed green, works Tronwell.

10. Children are home night.

EXERCISE 2. Re-write the following sentences using the correct preposition.

Example: They live/Coronado Street/number 32.
They live on Coronado Street at number 32.

1. Jack works /a hotel / New Jersey.

2. Meet me / the bus-stop / the end of Bristol Road.

3. My diary is / the table / the living room.

4. Sign your name /the dotted line /the bottom of the page.

EXERCISE 3. Fill in the blanks in the following paragraphs:

1. Liz lives _____ Harton. She has a flat _____ the third floor of Conway House,_____ Church Street. It’s
_____ the left, opposite the bank.

2. There was a good film _____ the Odeon cinema last week. The Odeon cinema is_____
the corner of High Street and Queen street. I met Judy _____ the entrance of the cinema
after work, but I was rather late so we didn't get very good seats. We had to sit _____ the
front row, _____ the end _____ the left hand side.

3. It is difficult to find tables _____ restaurants _____ Saturday night _____ Santiago. So, if you want
to dine out you have to make the reservations _____ advance.

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KEY-CHECK

EXERCISE 1.

1. at
2. at / on
3. in / in / in
4. on
5. in / at
6. on
7. at / on
8. at / on
9. in / at - in
10. at / at

EXERCISE 2.

1. Jack works at a hotel in New Jersey.

2. Meet me at the bus-stop at the end of Bristol Road.
3. My diary is on the table in the living room.
4. Sign your name on the dotted line at the bottom of the page.

EXERCISE 3.

1. in / on / on / on
2. at / on / at / in / at / on
3. at - in / on / in / in