 "English grammar help: Tricky Prepositions - in, on, at | EF English Live (1)")
English grammar can be tricky, and one area that many students find particularly difficult is prepositions. A preposition links nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence.
I’m sorry, I know they are hard to get your head around and I wish I could make them go away, but I can’t. So, my next best offer is to try and help you get comfortable with using them. Let’s do a quick review of when to use three of the most common ones: in, on, and at.
Stay on track with a method that really works.
Preposition: IN
Use: When talking about time, we use ‘in’ when referring to an unspecific time of the day, a month, a season or a year.
Here are some examples:
“I always brush my teeth in the morning.”
“My birthday is in June.”
“It’s always cold in winter.”
“My brother was born in 1999.”
Use 2: When talking about places, ‘in’ is used to indicate a location or place. Here are a few examples:
“I used to live in Florida.”
“The city of Bangkok is in Thailand.”
“I am in my room.”
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Preposition: ON
Use1 : The word ‘on’, when talking about time, is for specific dates and days.
Some examples are:
“He was born on September 24th.”
“I go to the gym on Mondays and Wednesdays.”
Use 2: When talking about places, ‘on’ is used when we are speaking about a surface. Something is on the surface of something else.
For example:
“The papers are on the coffee table.”
“I left the keys on the counter.”
Preposition: AT
Use 1: When talking about time, ‘at’ is used for a specific time.
So for example:
“I will see you at 8:00 pm.”
“My interview is at 3:00 pm.”
Use 2: When talking about places, ‘at’ is used to indicate a specific place.
Some examples are:
“We are meeting at the cafe.”
“The football game is at the stadium.”
Let’s practice with the next exercise!
1. I live ___ a house.
2. We will meet ___ 5:00 pm.
3. My birthday is ___ May 5th.
4. The last Olympics were held ___ 2012.
5. I usually study ___ Sundays.
6. My books were ___ this table, where did they go?
7. They left ___ 9:00 am.
8. We met ___ the park.
9. I like taking a nap ___ the afternoon.
10. It rains a lot ___ spring.
It will surely take time and practice to become an expert at using prepositions, but keep on trying and it will eventually stick!
Answers: in, at, on, in, on, on, at, at, in, in.
Image:Moyan Brenn.
Article related: English grammar help: Common Prepositions
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