11.10.2012:

Prepositions of Place

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 fridge
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 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