Prepositions of Place: at, in, on

In general, we use:

 at for a POINT

 in for an ENCLOSED SPACE

 on for a SURFACE

at in on
POINT 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 in my pocket on the floor

road

at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet

at the crossroads in a building on the menu

at the front desk in a car on a page

Look at these examples:

 Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.

 The shop is at the end of the street.

  My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours
late.

 When will you arrive at the office?

 Do you work in an office?

 I have a meeting in New York.

 Do you live in Japan?

 Jupiter is in the Solar System.

 The author's name is on the cover of the book.

 There are no prices on this menu.

 You are standing on my foot.

 There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.

 I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard

expressions:

at in on

at home in a car on a bus

at work in a taxi on a train

at school in a helicopter on a plane

at university in a boat on a ship

at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike

at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant

 at in on

at the in the sky on the radio, on television

bottom

at the side in a row on the left, on the right

at reception in Oxford Street on the way

Prepositions of Place 1

1. He’s swimming ______ the river.

2. Where’s Julie? She’s ______ school.

3. The plant is ______ the table.

4. There is a spider ______ the bath.

5. Please put those apples ______ the bowl.

6. Frank is ______ holiday for three weeks.

7. There are two pockets ______ this bag.

8. I read the story ______ the newspaper.

9. The cat is sitting ______ the chair.

10. Lucy was standing ______ the bus stop.

11. I'll meet you ______ the cinema.

12. She hung a picture ______ the wall.

13. John is ______ the garden.

14. There's nothing ______ TV tonight.

15. I stayed ______ home all weekend.

16. When I called Lucy, she was ______ the bus.

17. There was a spider ______ the ceiling.

18. Unfortunately, Mrs Brown is ______ hospital.

19. Don't sit ______ the table, sit ______ a chair.

20. There are four cushions ______ the sofa.

Prepositions of Place 2

1. The wine is ______ the bottle.

2. Pass me the dictionary, it's ______ the bookshelf.

3. Jennifer is ______ work.

4. Berlin is ______ Germany.

5. You have something ______ your face.

6. Turn left ______ the traffic lights.

7. She was listening to classical music ______ the radio.

8. He has a house ______ the river.

9. The answer is ______ the bottom of the page.

10. Julie will be ______ the plane now.

11. There are a lot of magnets ______ the fridge.

12. She lives ______ London.

13. John is ______ a taxi. He's coming.

14. I'll meet you ______ the airport.

15. She stood ______ the window and looked out.

16. The cat is ______ the house somewhere.

17. Why you calling so late? I’m already ______ bed.

18. I waited for Lucy ______ the station.

19. There was a picture of flowers ______ her T-shirt.

20. She has a house ______ Japan.