Prepositions in-on-at

1. at /on / in

We use at/on/in …
We do not use at/on/in …

2. at /on / in

TIME
POSITION
OTHER
USES

3. TIME

We use at:
• 1) For the time of day :
• At five o’clock
• At 10.45
• At midnight
• At lunchtime
• At sunset
• 2) in these expressions:
• At night
• At the weekend / at weekends
• At Christmas
• At the moment/ at present
• At the same time
E.g.:
Kate and I arrived at five o’clock.
I don’t like working at night
TIME

4.

TIME
• 3) in expression “at the end (of something)”= at the time
when something ends:
• At the end of the month
• At the end of the film
• At the end of January
• at the end of the game
• At the end of the course
• E.g.: I’m going away at the end of the month.
At the end of the concert, everyone applauded.
• At the end (of …) ≠ at the beginning (of…)

5.

We use on:
• 1) for days and dates:
• On Friday/on Fridays
• On 7 March 2017
• On Christmas Day
• On my birthday
• 2) in expression “on time” = punctual, not late.
• E.g.: -I’ll meet you on Friday at 7.30
- OK, but please be on time.
On time ≠ late
• E.g.: Be on time. Don’t be late.
TIME

6.

TIME
We use in:
• 1) for longer periods (months/years/seasons):
• In October
• In winter
• In 2017
• In the 18th century
• In the past/future
• 2) in the expressions:
• In the morning(s) BUT on Friday morning(s)
• In the afternoon(s) BUT on Sunday afternoon(s)
• In the evening(s) BUT on Monday evening(s)
• 3) in the meaning “через”:
• In a few minutes
• In a week
• In six months
• In a moment

7.

TIME
• 4) in the meaning “how long it takes to do
something”:
• In four weeks
• In ten minutes
• 5) in expression “in time” = soon enough:
• In time ≠ too late
• 6) in expression “in the end” = finally:
• In the end ≠ at first
• E.g.: I’ll see you in the morning.
Do you work in October?
The train will be leaving in a few minutes.
I learnt to drive in four weeks.
Will you be home in time for dinner?
At first we didn’t get on very well, but in the end we
became good friends.

8.

We do not use at/on/in :
• 1) before last/next/this/every:
TIME
• Last Friday
• Last March
• 2) in spoken English we can leave out ON before days:
• E.g.: I’ll see you next Friday.
I’ll see you (on) Friday

9.

Position
We use at:
• 1) речь идёт о конкретном месте или точке:
• At the bus stop/at the door/at the window
• At the traffic lights/at the roundabout/at the junction
• At reception/at the entrance to the hotel
• At/on the corner of the street
• At a party/ at a concert
• 2) in the expressions “at work/ at school/ at university/at
college”.
• 3) somebody is at home/home, but do something at home.
• 4) we say somebody’s house:
• At Helen’s house
• At the doctor’s
• At the hairdresser’s
• 5) for buildings. We usually say at when we say where an event
tales place:
• A concert at the National Concert Hall

10.

Position
• 6)in expressions “ at the top/at the bottom/at the end”:
• At the top of the page
• At the other end of the street
• 7) in expressions with a building/theatre/group of people:
• At the front of = спереди
• At the back of = позади
• E.g.: Who is that man standing at the door?
Turn left at the traffic lights.
Leave your key at reception.
I’ll be at work until 5.30.
Shall we go to a restaurant or eat at home?
I saw Steve at a conference.
I was at Helen’s house last night.
Write your name at the top of the page.
The garden is at the back of the house.

11.

Position
We use on:
• 1) положение объекта в пространстве, соприкасаясь с
плоской поверхностью, или воспринимать пространство
как прямую:
• On the ceiling/door/floor/wall/table
• On a page/ on page seven
• On an island/ on a small island
• 2) in expressions:
• On the way
• On the left/on the right
• On the left-hand side/on the right-hand side
• On the ground floor/on the first floor/on the second floor
etc.
• on a map/ on a menu/ on a list
• 3) that place is on a river/on a road/on the coast
• 4) in expressions with a letter/ piece of peper etc.:
• On the front of…
• On the back of…

12.

Position
• 5) передвигаясь на транспорте :
• On a bus/ on a train/ on a plane/ on a bike/on a horse
• But
• In a car / in a taxi
• E.g.: I sat on the floor.
Have you seen the notice on the notice board?
You’ll find details of TV programmes on page seven of the
newspaper.
Jane passed me on her bike.
In Britain we drive on the left.
Budapest is on the Danube.
We stopped to buy something in a shop on the way
home.
I wrote the date on the back of the photo.

13.

Position
We us in:
• 1) обозначение положения предмета в ином большем
объекте или в трёхмерном пространстве:
• In a room/ in a building/ in a box/ in the bottle
• In a office/ in a department
• 2) that somebody/something is:
• In a line/in a row/ in a queue
• In the sky/ in the world
• in a book/ in a newspaper/ in a letter
• In a picture/ in a photo/ in a photograph
• 3) in expression “in the corner of a room”
• 4) with towns, cities and villages:
• In Paris
• In a village
• 5) when we are thinking about the building itself:
• In the hotel

14.

Position
• E.g.: There’s no-one in the room.
When we were in Italy, we spent a few days in Venice.
There were some people swimming in the sea.
There is some water in the bottle.
It was a lovely day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
Who is the woman in that photo?
The TV is in the corner of the room.
Anna’s mother is in hospital.
All the rooms in the hotel have air conditioning.
The Louvre is a famous art museum in Paris.

15.

Other
uses
We us at:
• 1) in expressions:
• At the age of
• At 120 miles an hour
• At 100 degrees
E.g.: Tracy left school at the age of 16.
The train was travelling at 120 miles an hour.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

16.

Other
uses
We use on in expressions:
• 1) on TV/ on television/ on the radio
• 2) on the phone
• 3) be/go on a diet
• 4) be on fire
• 5) be/go on strike
• 6) on the whole = in general
• 7) on purpose = intentionally
• 8) be/go on holiday/ on business/ on a trip/ on a tour/ on a
cruise
• E.g.: I didn’t watch the news on television.
I’ve spoken to her on the phone a few times.
There are no trains today. The drivers are on strike.
I’ll have to go on a diet.
Look! That car is on fire.
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to annoy you. I didn’t do it on
purpose.

17.

Other
uses
We use in in expressions:
• 1) in the rain/ in the sun/in the shade/ in the dark/ in bad
weather etc.
• 2) write in ink/ in pen/ in pencil
• 3) write in words/ in figures/ in capital letters etc.
• 4) be/fall in love with somebody
• 5) in (my) opinion
• E.g.: It was too hot to sit in the sun.
Don’t go out in the rain. Wait until it stops.
When you do the exam, you’re not allowed to write in
pencil.
Please write your name in capital letters.
They’re in love.
In my opinion, the movie wasn’t very good.