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On, at, and in

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A preposition links a noun, pronoun or noun phrase to some part of the sentence. Prepositions are always difficult to learn therefore you should practise using the prepositions with the correct phrases or nouns.

Here are few examples of on, at, or in:

On

On – to show a surface of something
I put my phone on the table.
Don’t leave any important papers on your desk.

On – to show exact days and dates
The bar has live bands on Fridays.
He was born on the 13th of June 1968.

On – to indicate using a device or a machine.
He is on the phone at the moment.
Sarah does all her designs on computer.
The cup final will be shown on TV.

On – to show a part of the body.
The ball hit me right on my head.
She has a ring on each finger.

On – to show the state of something.
The coat I bought was on sale.
The engine was on fire.

At

At – to show a point in time.
I will meet you at 6.00pm
The train leaves at 9.00am.

At – to indicate a place
There is a bus stop at the corner.
There were thousands of people at the concert.
I live at the end of the street.

At – to indicate an activity
I am good at explaining my ideas.
They laughed at the proposal.

In

In – for general times of the day, month or year
I always have a good breakfast in the morning.
It is too hot in the summer.
I will move to Madrid in October.

In - for a location or place
John lives in a quiet street.
I live in Greece.

In – to indicate a shape, colour or size
They decorated their house in warm pastel colours.
The fans waited in a queue.
Do you have that dress in my size?

Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school

Now complete the following with the correct preposition:

  • 1. I would like to become a gym instructor _ a month.




  • 2. He usually goes to the theatre _ Saturdays.




  • 3. I don’t like dancing when there are too many people _ the dancefloor.




  • 4. Do you have this jacket _ blue?




  • 5. I start work _ 8.30am.




  • 6. We always go on a skiing holiday _ January.




  • 7. During the workshop we sat _ a circle. It was very informal.




  • 8. I’ll meet you _ the cinema.