Basic English Prepositions of Time and Place: At, In, On, and To

Use "in" with months of the year:

I was born in April.

She left for school in September.
Peter will fly to Texas in March.

With seasons:

I like skiing in winter.

He enjoys playing tennis in Spring.
They take a vacation in summer.

With countries:

He lives in Greece.
The company is located in Canada.
She went to school in Germany.

With city or town names:

He has a house in New York.

I was born in Seattle.
He works in San Francisco.

With times of the day -

I wake up early in the morning.

She goes to school in the afternoon.
Peter sometimes plays softball in the evening.

Important exception!

Use at with night:

The sleep at night.

He likes to go out at night.

When to Use the Preposition "On"

Use "on" with specific days of the week or year:

We'll meet on Friday.
What do you do on New Year's Day?
He played basketball on March 5th.

American English - "on the weekend OR on weekends"

When to Use "At"

Use "at" with specific times of the day:

Let's meet at 7 o'clock.

He has a meeting at 6.15.
She went to a party at night.

Use "at" with specific places in a city:

We met at school.
Let's meet him at the restaurant.
He works at a hospital.

British English - "at the weekend OR at weekends"

When to Use the Preposition "To"

Use "to" with verbs which show movement such as go and come.

He goes to school.
She returned to the store.
They are coming to the party tonight.
Fill in the Blanks Quiz

Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition—in, on, at, or to.

1. Janet was born _____ Rochester.

 in
 on
 at
 to

2. I am going _____ the dentist _____ 9am.

 at, at
 on, to
 to, at
 in, on

3. Theo's birthday is _____ September 7th.

 in
 on
 at
 to

4. Rochester is _____ the state of New York.

 in
 on
 at
 to

5. _____ Saturday, they often meet friends _____ a restaurant.

 In, at
 On, in
 On, at
 At, to

6. _____ night, they sometimes go _____ a disco.

 At, in
 At, to
 In, on
 In, at

7. _____ weekends, she likes driving _____ her friend's house

 At, to
 On, in
 On, to
 At, at

8. She usually arrives _____ the morning _____ 8 o'clock.

 in, at
 on, at
 to, in
 at, at