Monday, April 23, 2012

18. PREPOSITION IN, ON, AT.


What are place prepositions?
Place prepositions , are prepositions that are used to describe the place or position of all types of nouns. It is common for the preposition to be placed before the noun. When we refer to Place prepositions we usually refer to "in", "at" and "on".
In - Is usually used to state that someone or something is in a (the boundaries can be physical or virtual place.
On - Is usually used to state someone or something is on top of a surface.
At - Is usually used to state something or someone is at a specific place.
How to use a prepositions?

1. The prepositions usually comes before the noun.

2. Prepositions can be used with all forms of nouns (e.g. collective nouns, pronouns etc).

3. Prepositions can't come after a verb, but can be used before a gerund or verb in noun form.

4. The rules above do not change and there are no exceptions to the rules.

We use :
* at for a PRECISE TIME
* in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
* on for DAYS and DATES
Prepositions of place are used to clarify a specific place. Place prepositions are used with all nouns. The preposition usually comes before the noun or the pronoun. The preposition never comes before a verb.
Common Place Prepositions:

aboard - She is aboard the boat.

above - The picture is above the sofa.

across - My house is across the street.

against - The desk is against the wall.

around - My house is around the block.

at - Is your house at the end of the street.

at the back of - We are going to sit at the back of the theater.

at the bottom of - The coins are at the bottom of the lake.

at the top of - The books are at the top of the shelves.

between - We sit between the two boys.

behind - The girls sit behind the two boys.

below - The desk is below the window

by - The books are by the door.

in - I live in the big green and white house.

inside - I live inside the big green house.

on the corner of - We live on the corner of 3rd avenue

in the middle of - We live in the middle of the street.

near - I don't live near the supermarket.

next to - I live next to my best friend.

to the left of - The blue box is to the left of the green box.

to the right of - The orange box is to the right of the yellow box.

on - The sun heater is on the top of the building.

on the side of - There is a big sign on the side of the house.

on top of - There is a man on the top of the roof.

on the other side of - Do you see what is going on over there on the other side of the roof?

opposite - The post office is on the opposite side of the street.

outside - The car is outside the garage.

under - The blanket is under the bed in a box..

underneath - The pen is underneath the box.
Time prepositions are used to define time. Prepositions usually come before a noun or pronoun. Prepositions never come after a verb.
* after - I will be there after work.
* around - We will be there around 3 PM
* before - I will be there before I go to school.
* between - I will be there
* by - I will be there by the time that you leave for work.
* during - I will be there during your class.
* for - I will be there for your birthday.
* past - I wasn't there for the past 2 months.
* since - I didn't see her since I was 10 years old.
* until - I will not be home until 7:00 PM.
* within - I will be there within 2 hours.
IN
Use 'in' with spaces:

* in a room / in a building
* in a garden / in a park

Use 'in' with bodies of water:
* in the water
* in the sea
* in a river

Use 'in' with lines:

* in a row / in a line
* in a queue
AT

Use 'at' with places:

* at the bus-stop
* at the door
* at the cinema
* at the end of the street

Use 'at' with places on a page:

* at the top of the page
* at the bottom of the page

Use 'at' in groups of people:
* at the back of the class
* at the front of the class
ON

Use 'on' with surfaces:

* on the ceiling / on the wall / on the floor
* on the table

Use 'on' with small islands:

* I stayed on Maui.

Use 'on' with directions:

* on the left
* on the right
* straight on
IMPORTANT NOTES

In / at / on the corner

We say 'in the corner of a room', but 'at the corner (or 'on the corner') of a street'

In / at / on the front

* We say 'in the front / in the back' of a car
* We say 'at the front / at the back' of buildings / groups of people
* We say 'on the front / on the back' of a piece of paper

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