I hate prepositions.
There. I said it.
I guess you hate them too. But we hate them for different reasons.
You, on one hand, hate them, because you have to guess which ones to use each time you speak or write in English. There are approximately 150 of them.
Be honest, deciding on the right one is a NIGHTMARE. And a PAIN.
I, on the other hand, hate them because it’s my job to teach and explain them.
And to correct students when they use the incorrect one.
And correct it again.
And again.
And again.
And…
ENOUGH!
Today, I’m going to teach three of them.
We are going to examine at, in and on.
We’ll evaluate them from two perspectives: as prepositions of time and prepositions of place.
Are you ready? Let’s get down to work.
AT
TIME
Clock times
Yes.
‘At’ usually refers to specific times.
There is not much more to say about this. Learn it. Remember it. Use it.
I wake up at 07.00 every day.
She takes the bus at 08.30 every morning.
I’ll meet you at midday.
Specific times of the day
Although not very specific, we also use the preposition at with night, lunchtime, dinnertime and bedtime, which have a habit of happening every day.
I have a cup of cocoa at bedtime.
At dinnertime, we often have a glass of wine with our meal.
She works at night.
He usually goes to the gym at night.
Festival and Holiday periods
We often use at with periods of time which we could measure, but which are usually not specified. Holiday periods or festivals are good examples. In my opinion, Christmas might just be 24 and 25 December, in other words, two days. For you, Christmas might be the two whole weeks. Here are some of the best-known examples:
at Christmas
at Easter
at Eid
at Hannukah
at Halloween
Random Expressions you need to know.
Yes, NEED TO KNOW.
You have to sit down and actually memorise them… or at least, remember that we use the preposition at.
at the weekend
at the moment
at times
at first
the end of July
AT
PLACE
Specific point
The exact position of something.
You will find the title of this blogpost at the top of this page.
You might find a bus timetable at the bus stop, (if you are very, very lucky).
When you go to the beach you are at the beach, in other words, the place where the beach is, be that Torremolinos, Maspalomas, Goa or Bundoran.
Addresses
When we give specific details of an address, including the building or house number, we use at and so should you!
The restaurant is at 13 Rosehip Gardens, Enniscorthy.
I used to live at 30, The Old Distillery in Dublin.
Events
When we talk about attending special events in English, we use the preposition at. So, you might say that you were at a wedding and that the newly weds had met at a football match and had gotten engaged at a U2 concert.
We had such a great time when we were at Eurovision.
There were a lot of people at the demonstration.
Public Places
We go to them every day: spaces that we all know and have to visit on a regular basis – the doctor’s, the chemist’s, the butcher’s, the hairdresser’s, the supermarket, the Post Office, the train station. So, you might say things like:
I’ll meet you at the train station later.
She was at the supermarket when she saw me.
He’ll be at the doctor’s for about an hour. Call back around 5 pm.
Typical Activities
I don’t want to flog a dead horse, (in other words, keep repeating the same message, over and over again), however, just so that you are completely clear, we also use at when describing the places we do typical things. If you are student you might be at school or at university.
IN
TIME
Weeks, months, years, decades, centuries
You can say that something is happening in 6 weeks or happened in March or April, in the 80s, in 1985 or in the 1900s. You can of course use other prepositions, but you won’t be right. You do want to be right, don't you?
Periods of time within a day
We can do things in the morning.
We can do other things in the afternoon.
And, we can do other things, in the evening.
At that point, (when the day ends and the night begins), we stop using in.
Length of time needed to do something
When we want to give a view to the future and say when something will be done, we use… (you’ve guessed it), the preposition in. You might tell your boss the presentation will be done in five minutes. Or a report will be finished in two days.
IN
PLACE
Containers and contents
When it all comes down to it, and we are talking about location, the preposition in refers something that is enclosed. In other words, inside something else. We often use it with containers and with ingredients or parts of a food or drink. For example, we can say the yoghurt is in the pot and that there are strawberries in the yoghurt. The yoghurt pot is in the fridge which is in the corner of the kitchen.
Get it? Things that are enclosed or inside other things.
Neighbourhoods, Towns, Cities, Regions, Countries, Continents
If we want to talk about specifics, we can say a house is in the Sacromonte neighbourhood, which is in Granada, a city in Andalusia, which as we all know is in Spain and Spain is in Europe. Clear?
Buildings or places that surround people completely
I am sitting in the park.
I was so late for my appointment that I didn’t even get to sit in the waiting room.
I left my wallet in supermarket.
ON
TIME
Days, Dates, Special days.
Yes. It’s time to talk about when to use the preposition on.
Most importantly, we used it on days, dates and special days.
So, we say on Monday, on Tuesday and on Sunday.
We can have fun on our wedding day.
We have a lot of fun on our birthdays.
In fact, it's almost a rule to have fun on the day we were born. I was born on 9 July. Here I am with my birthday cupcake last year.
PLACE
When it comes to on as a preposition of place, there is a LOT to work through.
Come with me!
Something that is covering something.
The most obvious place we use on is to describe surfaces.
The blanket is on the bed.
The carpet is on the floor.
The lid is on the jam jar.
Streets, avenues, rivers and coasts
If you are a geography geek, you are just going to LOVE this.
When we talk about geographical features that are in a straight line (yes, a STRAIGHT LINE!), we use on.
But, what does that mean?
Well, let’s look at it with some real examples:
The shop is on Bond Street.
We are staying on Park Avenue.
The village is on the Ebro River.
We bought a house on the Mediterranean coast.
Travelling
When we use most forms of transport, we use on.
Some people say on is used with public transport. You can be on the bus, the train, or a tram, all of which might be considered public transport. However, we could just as easily be on a plane, ship, bicycle or motorbike, which are not.
Whatever the case, an alternative way to describe boarding these modes of transport, is the phrasal verb get on.
Exactly. Wow!
That’s quite a lot of information to absorb.
Impossible to do at one reading.
So, go right back up to the top and read again.
But not before you subscribe to my mailing list.
When you think you have everything under control… you will find four exercises and an answer key here:
https://www.justintimeforjustin.com/post/time-to-practise-prepositions-of-place-and-time
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