Preposition: Uses of In / at/on ( Part -1)

Preposition: Uses of In / at/on ( Part -1)

Uses of in

In a room In a building In a box

In a garden In a town/country In the city center

In a pool In the sea In a river

Examples :

·        There is no one in the room/in the building/in the garden.

·        What have you got in your hand/in your mouth?

·        When we were in Bangladesh , we spent a few days in Dhaka.

·        I have a friend who lives in a small village in the mountains.

·        There were some people swimming in the pool / in the sea / in the river.

Uses of At

At the bus stop At the door At the window

At the roundabout

At reception

Examples :

·        Do you know the man standing at the door/ at the window?

·        Turn left at the traffic lights/ at the church/ at the roundabout

·        We have to get off the bus at the next stop.

·        When you leave the hotel, please leave your key at reception (= at the reception desk)

Uses of On

On the ceiling On the door On the table On the wall On the floor

On her nose On a page

On an island

Examples :

·        I sat on the floor/on the ground/ on the grass / on the beach/ on a chair

·        There’s a dirty mark on the wall / on the ceiling / on your nose / on your shirt .

·        Have you seen the notice on the board/ on the door?

·        You will find details on TV programmes on page seven ( of the newspaper)

·        The hotel is on a small island in the middle of the lake.

Compare in and at :

·        There were a lot of people in the shop . It was very crowded.

Go along this road, then turn left at the shop.

·        I will meet you in the hotel lobby.

I will meet you at the entrance to the hotel

Compare in and on :

·        There is some water in the bottle.

There is a label on the bottle

Compare at and on :

·        There is somebody at the door. Shall I go and see who it is?

·        There is a notice on the door. It says ‘ Do not disturb.