Prepositions of place can be difficult - here's some help about using 'at', 'in' and 'on' when you're talking about where things are.
Basics
If something is contained inside a box or a wide flat area, we use ‘in’:
| in the newspaper | in a house |
| in a cup | in a drawer |
| in a bottle | in a bag |
| in bed | in a car |
| in London | in England |
| in a book | in a pub |
| in a field | in the sea |
| in my stomach | in a river |
If something is on a line or a horizontal or vertical surface, we use ‘on’:
| on the table | on the wall |
| on the floor | on the window |
| on my face | on a plate |
| on the page | on the sofa |
| on a chair | on a bag |
| on the river | on a t-shirt |
| on the ceiling | on a bottle |
| on a bike | on his foot |
If something is at a point, (it could be a building) we use ‘at’:
| at the airport | at the door |
| at the table | at the bus stop |
| at the cinema | at the top |
| at the bottom | at the pub |
| at the traffic lights | at the front |
| at the back | at school |
| at university | at the window |
| at the hospital | at the piano |
Here are some more common ones that don't really fit
- on TV
- on the bus
- on a train
- on a plane
- on the radio
- at home
- at work
Click here to download this explanation as a pdf.
Try an exercise about prepositions of place
here.
Try another one here.