In, On, At - Location Page 1 of 5

In, On, At - Location

4. on 5. at
1. in 2. in 3. on

1. In is used for location inside areas:

cities: in New York

parts of cities: in Brooklyn, in Soho, in Greenwich Village, in the suburbs
states and provinces: in California, in British Columbia
countries: in England
continents: in Asia, in Antarctica
regions: in the southwest, in the northern hemisphere
deserts: in the Sahara, in the desert
valleys: in the valley, in the canyon
mountains: in the Alps, in the mountains
wooded areas: in the woods, in the forest, in the orchard
grassy areas: in the field, in the garden, in the grass, in the meadow, in the pasture, in the
park, in the yard

and with words like area, region, and zone

2. In is used for location inside a three-dimensional space:

in the attic in the elevator

in the basement in the garage
in the bathroom in the hotel
in the bedroom in the house
in the building in the kitchen
in the cellar in the office
in the classroom in the room
in the closet

in the bay in the reservoir

in the creek in the river
in the lake in the stream
in the ocean in the water
in the pond

in the car in my hand

in the glove compartment in her handbag
in the taxi in my pocket
in the trunk [of the car] in his wallet

in the bag in the glass

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In, On, At - Location Page 2 of 5

in the barrel in the jar

in the box in the jug
in the bottle in the pitcher
in the can in the tube
in the cask in the vat
in the cup

in the book in the freezer

in the preface in the oven
in the introduction in the refrigerator
in the appendix
in the index
in the table of contents
in Chapter 10
in Section 3

in the magazine
in the newspaper
in the catalog
in the contract
in the document
in the instructions
in the lease
in the letter

3. & 4. On is used to indicate contact with a line or surface:

on the ceiling on a river

on the floor on the Nile
on the (first, second, etc.) on the Rhine
floor on the Seine
on the patio on the Thames
on the porch
on the roof on the lake (next to the
on the stairs lake)
on the steps
on the wall on the sidewalk
on the window on Elm street

on the counter on the edge

on the desk on the side
on the table on the left
on the right
on the corner
on the ground

on an island

on the plate

on the top
on the bottom
on the inside
on the outside

We use on for animals used for transportation:

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In, On, At - Location Page 3 of 5

on a camel
on a donkey
on an elephant
on a horse
on a mule

We use on with vehicles that permit freedom of movement (walking, standing, etc.):

on a bicycle
on a bus
on a motorcycle
on an ocean liner
on a plane
on a 747
on a jumbo jet
on a ship
on a train

We use in with vehicles that do not permit much freedom of movement:

in a balloon
in a car
in a cab
in an elevator
in a plane (a small private plane)
in a taxi

5. We use at when we think of something as simply a point on a map, without dimensions:

at the bank at the baseball game

at the movies at the concert
at the restaurant at the race

We use at with blackboard, desk, door, and window to indicate that the person is using the thing
mentioned:

at the blackboard [the teacher is writing or indicating something on the blackboard]

at the desk [a person is sitting in a chair behind the desk]
at the door [someone is knocking, for example]
at the window [a person is near the window and is looking out of it]

Confusing Uses
Compare:

There are a lot of fish in the lake. [under the surface of the water]
There are a lot of boats on the lake today. [on the surface of the water]
He built a house on the lake. [next to the lake]

Compare:

He is in the house. [house is thought of as a three-dimensional object]

He is at home. [home is thought of as a point]

Compare:

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In, On, At - Location Page 4 of 5

Mr. Nelson is at the restaurant. [He is eating. The restaurant is viewed as a point, only in terms of its
function.]
There is a bar in the restaurant. [The restaurant is viewed as a three-dimensional object. The bar is inside
the restaurant.]

Compare:

There is a fly on the window. [window is thought of as a surface]

There is a candle in the window. [window is thought of as an area]

Compare:

The teacher is sitting at the desk. [in a chair behind the desk]
The teacher is sitting on the desk. [on the surface of the desk]

Compare:

He is at the movies. [He is in the movie theater watching the movie.]

He is in the movies. [He is an actor. He appears in movies.]

Compare:

The players are on the field. [field viewed as a playing surface]

The sheep are in the field.[field viewed as an area enclosed by a fence]

Compare:

She is at the hospital. [She is visiting or working there.]

She is in the hospital. [She is a patient.]

Compare:

How many people are there in the world? [world is considered an inhabited area]
When did life on Earth begin? [our planet is usually viewed as a surface, as seen from space]

Compare:

John is at the beach. [the land next to the ocean]

John is lying on the beach. [on the surface of the sand]
San Francisco is on the West Coast. [Coast is thought of as a line.]

Compare:

My friend lives in Madrid. [Madrid is viewed as an area.]

Our plane stopped at Madrid before continuing on to Rome. [Madrid is viewed as a point on a map or
itinerary.]

Compare:

We arrived at the airport around midnight. [airport is a point in the city]

We arrived in the city around midnight. [city is an area]

Compare:

The birds built a nest in that tree. [tree viewed as a three-dimensional space]

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In, On, At - Location Page 5 of 5

There are a lot of oranges on that tree. [growing on the tree, which is viewed as a surface]

Compare:

There was a sign on the wall. [on the surface of the wall]
There was a boy sitting on the wall. [on top of the wall]

Compare:

There were a lot of people standing in line. [in a row]

How many people are online/on line? [connected to or using the Internet]

Some Advice

Notice that in many of these pairs, the difference is in the point of view of the speaker. The choice of in,
on, or at often depends upon whether we view something as having three, two, one, or zero dimensions. If
you are having difficulty with these prepositions, try memorizing some of the examples on this page; it will
help you to understand the differences.

Practice the uses of in, on, and at for location with these exercises:

IN, ON, AT LOCATION EXERCISES: Location Exercise 1 GO

Back to Grammar Page

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