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English Prepositions
English Prepositions
and “At”
The English prepositions in, on, and at are some of the most common words
in our language, but they can easily get mixed up. Confusion can arise
because not only are they all prepositions of place, but they’re also all
prepositions of time; being prepositions of both time and place can make
these two-letter words difficult to use.
In this guide, we explain how to use in, on, and at. We discuss the rules for
each as prepositions of both time and place and share some examples
of in, on, and at sentences. Let’s start with reviewing how English prepositions
work in general.
For example, the prepositional phrase “behind the tall tree” includes the
preposition behind, the object of the preposition tree, the article the, and the
adjective tall.
prepositions of time
prepositions of place
prepositions of direction
prepositions of space
What makes in, on, and at challenging is that they are prepositions of both
time and place. That means each one has at least two different meanings,
and all of those meanings can easily get mixed up. To make things more
difficult, in, on, and at are not interchangeable—you have to learn all the
usages for each to avoid confusing them.
English preposition: in
amounts of days
months
seasons
years
in a few moments
in a couple of minutes
in five days
in August
in the summer
in 3200 BCE
in the evening
general locations
class
outer space
in Tanzania
in my third class
specific dates
on Tuesday
on Saturday evening
on our anniversary
on the weekend
mountains
floors of a building
corners
streets
planets
on the ceiling
on Mount Hood
on Main Street
on Mars
English preposition: at
clock times
mealtimes
at 8 p.m.
at dinner
at dusk
at night
at the weekend
precise locations
events
specific addresses
At: preposition of place examples
When using next as an adjective before a time, you can omit in, on, or at. The
sentence will work without a preposition of time.
Similarly, you can also omit in, on, or at when using last as an adjective before
a time period, as long as you are talking about a specific time.
Keep in mind that the phrase “at last” acts as an adverb, so these rules for
prepositions don’t apply to it.
The words in, on, and at are prepositions of both time and place. That means
each one has at least two different meanings, and all of those meanings can
easily get mixed up.
Can in, on, and at be used interchangeably?
The prepositions in, on, and at are not interchangeable. Each has its own
rules and suggested usages. However, sometimes the same words or
sentence can use different prepositions, although the meaning will change
slightly.