We use at for a point in time:
at 10 o"clock
at 11.30 a.m.
at twenty to five
at ten past six
at noon
at midnight
at the stroke of nine
We also use at to refer to holiday seasons:
at Christmas, at Easter [the season, not the day]
At is used in the following expressions:
at night [see in below for morning, afternoon, evening]
at dawn
at dusk
at bedtime
at suppertime
at dinnertime
at breakfast
at lunch
at supper
at dinner
at that time
at the time
at the moment
at present
at that minute
at that hour
at the (beginning, start, end) of the 20th century
at once
At is used with ages:
[He got his Ph.D.] at the age of thirty.
[She got married] at twenty-one.
We use on for days:
on Monday
on Sunday morning
on Saturday afternoon
on Friday night
on the weekend
on December 25
on Christmas Day
on Christmas Eve
on the 12th of January
on Wednesday, July 18
on my birthday
on their anniversary
on their golden anniversary
on their tenth anniversary
on the (morning, afternoon, evening, night) of September 23
on the following day
We use on time to refer to a person"s arrival at a scheduled time:
We arrived on time.
We use in with periods of time such as centuries, years, seasons, months, and parts of the day:
in the nineteenth century
in 1986
in the fifties
in the (early, late) 1930`s
in the (spring, summer, autumn, fall, winter)
in the (springtime, summertime, wintertime)
in the (morning, afternoon, evening)
in her infancy
in his youth
in the prime of her life
in his old age
We use in with expressions like the following:
in the first three months of the year
in the second quarter
in the last half
in the last ten seconds of the game
in the last few moments of his life
in the time remaining
in the next few months
in time [for something]
Notes:
We do not use a preposition or the with next and last:
next Wednesday [NOT on the next Wednesday]
last September [NOT in the last September]
But if we use next or last with a number, we use in plus the:
in the last few minutes
in the next ten days
See above for more examples of in the next..., in the last....
Notice the difference between on time and in time:
We arrived [at the movie theater] on time. [at the scheduled time]
We arrived [at the movie theater] in time for the cartoon. [early enough to see the cartoon]
Location:
1. In is used for location inside areas:
cities: in New York
parts of cities: in Brooklyn, in Soho, in Greenwich Village, in the suburbs
states and provinces: in California, in British Columbia
countries: in England
continents: in Asia, in Antarctica
regions: in the southwest, in the northern hemisphere
deserts: in the Sahara, in the desert
valleys: in the valley, in the canyon
mountains: in the Alps, in the mountains
wooded areas: in the woods, in the forest, in the orchard
grassy areas: in the field, in the garden, in the grass, in the meadow, in the pasture, in the park, in the yard
and with words like area, region, and zone
2. In is used for location inside a three-dimensional space:
| in the attic in the basement in the bathroom in the bedroom in the building in the cellar in the classroom in the closet | in the elevator in the garage in the house in the kitchen in the office in the parking lot in the room |
| in the bay in the creek in the lake in the ocean in the pond | in the reservoir in the river in the stream in the water |
| in the car in the glove compartment in the taxi in the trunk [of the car] | in my hand in her handbag in my pocket in his wallet |
| in the bag in the barrel in the box in the bottle in the can in the cask in the cup | in the glass in the jar in the jug in the pitcher in the tube in the vat |
| in the book in the preface in the introduction in the appendix in the index in the table of contents in Chapter 10 in Section 3 in the magazine in the newspaper in the catalog in the contract in the document in the instructions in the lease in the letter | in the freezer in the oven in the refrigerator |
3. & 4. On is used to indicate contact with a line or surface:
| on the ceiling on the floor on the (first, second, etc.) floor on the patio on the porch on the roof on the stairs on the steps on the wall on the window on the counter on the desk on the table on the corner on the ground on an island on the plate on the top on the bottom on the inside on the outside | on a river on the Nile on the Rhine on the Seine on the Thames on the lake (next to the lake) on the sidewalk on Elm street on the edge on the side on the left on the right |
We use on for animals used for transportation:
on a camel
on a donkey
on an elephant
on a horse
on a mule
We use on with vehicles that permit freedom of movement (walking, standing, etc.):
on a bicycle
on a bus
on a motorcycle
on an ocean liner
on a plane
on a 747
on a jumbo jet
on a ship
on a train
We use in with vehicles that do not permit much freedom of movement:
in a balloon
in a car
in a cab
in an elevator
in a plane (a small private plane)
in a taxi
5. We use at when we think of something as simply a point on a map, without dimensions:
| at the bank at the movies at the restaurant | at the baseball game at the concert at the race |
We use at with blackboard, desk, door, and window to indicate that the person is using the thing mentioned:
at the blackboard [the teacher is writing or indicating something on the blackboard]
at the desk [a person is sitting in a chair behind the desk]
at the door [someone is knocking, for example]
at the window [a person is near the window and is looking out of it]
Compare:
There are a lot of fish in the lake. [under the surface of the water]
There are a lot of boats on the lake today. [on the surface of the water]
He built a house on the lake. [next to the lake]
Compare:
He is in the house. [house is thought of as a three-dimensional object]
He is at home. [home is thought of as a point]
Compare:
Mr. Nelson is at the restaurant. [He is eating. The restaurant is viewed as a point, only in terms of its function.]
There is a bar in the restaurant. [The restaurant is viewed as a three-dimensional object. The bar is inside the restaurant.]
Compare:
There is a fly on the window. [window is thought of as a surface]
There is a candle in the window. [window is thought of as an area]
Compare:
The teacher is sitting at the desk. [in a chair behind the desk]
The teacher is sitting on the desk. [on the surface of the desk]
Compare:
He is at the movies. [He is in the movie theater watching the movie.]
He is in the movies. [He is an actor. He appears in movies.]
Compare:
The players are on the field. [field viewed as a playing surface]
The sheep are in the field.[field viewed as an area enclosed by a fence]
Compare:
She is at the hospital. [She is visiting or working there.]
She is in the hospital. [She is a patient.]
Compare:
How many people are there in the world? [world is considered an inhabited area]
When did life on Earth begin? [our planet is usually viewed as a surface, as seen from space]
Compare:
John is at the beach. [the land next to the ocean]
John is lying on the beach. [on the surface of the sand]
San Francisco is on the West Coast. [Coast is thought of as a line.]
Compare:
My friend lives in Madrid. [Madrid is viewed as an area.]
Our plane stopped at Madrid before continuing on to Rome. [Madrid is viewed as a point on a map or itinerary.]
Compare:
We arrived at the airport around midnight. [airport is a point in the city]
We arrived in the city around midnight. [city is an area]
Compare:
The birds built a nest in that tree. [tree viewed as a three-dimensional space]
There are a lot of oranges on that tree. [growing on the tree, which is viewed as a surface]
Compare:
There was a sign on the wall. [on the surface of the wall]
There was a boy sitting on the wall. [on top of the wall]
Compare:
There were a lot of people standing in line. [in a row]
How many people are online/on line? [connected to or using the Internet]
Some Advice
Notice that in many of these pairs, the difference is in the point of view of the speaker. The choice of in, on, or at often depends upon whether we view something as having three, two, one, or zero dimensions. If you are having difficulty with these prepositions, try memorizing some of the examples on this page; it will help you to understand the differences.
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