Prepositions
of Place: at, in, on
In
general, we use:
at for
a POINT
in for
an ENCLOSED SPACE
on for
a SURFACE
at
|
in
|
on
|
POINT
|
ENCLOSED
SPACE
|
SURFACE
|
at the corner
|
in the garden
|
on the wall
|
at the bus
stop
|
in London
|
on the ceiling
|
at the door
|
in France
|
on the door
|
at the top of
the page
|
in a box
|
on the cover
|
at the end of
the road
|
in my pocket
|
on the floor
|
at the
entrance
|
in my wallet
|
on the carpet
|
at the
crossroads
|
in a building
|
on the
left/right
|
at the front
desk
|
in a car
|
on a page
|
Look
at these examples:
Jane
is waiting for you at the bus stop.
The
shop is at the end of the street.
My
plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and
arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
When
will you arrive at the office?
Do
you work in an office?
I
have a meeting in New York.
Do
you live in Japan?
Jupiter
is in the Solar System.
The
author's name is on the cover of the book.
There
are no prices on this menu.
You
are standing on my foot.
There
was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
I
live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford
Street in London.
Notice
the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in
these standard expressions:
at
|
in
|
on
|
at home
|
in a car
|
on a bus
|
at work
|
in a taxi
|
on a train
|
at school
|
in a
helicopter
|
on a plane
|
at university
|
in a boat
|
on a ship
|
at college
|
in a lift
(elevator)
|
on a bicycle,
on a motorbike
|
at the top
|
in the
newspaper
|
on a horse, on
an elephant
|
at the bottom
|
in the sky
|
on the radio,
on television
|
at the side
|
in a row
|
on the left,
on the right
|
at reception
|
in Oxford
Street
|
on the way
|
IN
a)
Dentro de un espacio cerrado:
in
the bedroom / in my office / in your pocket / in hospital / in prison
/ in bed
in
the front / in the back of a car (pero; at
the front / at the back of a cinema, of a building)
O dentro
de un objeto:
in
that book / in the water
b)
En un lugar abierto (sitios determinados con unos límites
definidos):
in
the park / in the street / in the garden / in the queue
c)
Con países y ciudades:
in
Spain / in Madrid / in my country / in this town
ON
a)
Sobre una superficie, con contacto físico:
on
the table / on the wall / on the floor / on my shoulder / on page 103
/ on the second floor
b) Con
las expresiones:
on
the left / on the right
AT
a)
Lugar determinado:
at
the door / at the window / at the trafic light / at the top of the
page / at the bridge
b) Con
las expresiones:
at
home / at school / at work / at the office / at the bus stop / at the
airport / at someone's house
c) Con acontecimientos:
at
the party / at the meeting / at the conference
d) También
se puede utiliza con edificios, con un significado
diferente al de "in":
at
the museum (en el museo: puede ser dentro
o justo fuera)
in
the museum (dentro del museo)
e)
"At" se utiliza cuando se menciona donde
tuvo lugar un acto:
This
morning I visited the painting exposition at the National Museum
Yesterday
we had dinner at the new Chinese restaurant
f) O
con lugares abiertos con agua: "at": al lado;
"in": dentro
at
the river (en la orilla del río) /
in the river (dentro del agua)
at
the lake / in the lake
at
the swimming pool / in the swimming pool
at
the sea / in the sea
En
numerosos casos con un mismo sustantivo se pueden
utilizar diferentes preposiciones si bien
el significado varía:
in
the car (dentro del coche)
on
the car (sobre el coche)
at
the car (dentro
o justo al lado el coche)
Watch
out!!!
En
muchos casos puedes usar "in" o "at" como "en"
con la misma palabras pero en situaciones diferentes, por ejemplo:
Si
dices "at hospital", es porque tienes una cita o
visitas a alguien, pero si dices "in hospital", es
porque estás internado por alguna dolencia o cirugía. Lo mismo
sucede con "at school" (Escuela de día) e "in
school" (Internado).
En general dices "he/she
is AT his office", pero si preguntas por la misma persona y tú
estás afuera de su oficina, la secretaria te contestará "He/She
is IN his office". Podemos usar "in" or "at"
con algunos lugares públicos, como por ejemplo: un restaurante, el
teatro, el cine, etc. (teniendo en cuenta nuestro punto de
referencia)
Prepositions
of Time: at, in, on
We
use:
at
|
in
|
on
|
PRECISE
TIME
|
MONTHS,
YEARS, CENTURIES and SHORT/ LONG PERIODS
|
DAYS and
DATES
|
at 3 o'clock
|
in May
|
on Sunday
|
at 10.30am
|
in summer
|
on Tuesdays
|
at noon
|
in the summer
|
on 6 March
|
at dinnertime
|
in 1990
|
on 25 Dec.
2010
|
at bedtime
|
in the 1990s
|
on Christmas
Day
|
at sunrise, at
dawn
|
in the next
century
|
on
Independence Day
|
at sunset
|
in the Ice Age
|
on my birthday
|
at the moment
|
in the past/in
the future/ in a while/ in a second/ in 2 minutes/ in 3 days/ in
4 hours
|
on New Year's
Eve
|
Look
at these examples:
I
have a meeting at 9am.
The
shop closes at midnight.
Jane
went home at lunchtime.
In
England, it often snows in December.
Do
you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
There
should be a lot of progress in the next century.
Do
you work on Mondays?
Her
birthday is on 20 November.
Where
will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice
the use of the preposition of time at in the
following standard expressions:
Expression
|
Example
|
at night,at
midday
|
The stars
shine at night.
|
at the weekend
|
I don't
usually work at the weekend.
|
at
Christmas/Easter
|
I stay with my
family at Christmas.
|
at the same
time
|
We finished
the test at the same time.
|
at present
|
He's not
home at present. Try later.
|
¿At o on?
-
At Christmas (en Navidad) va acompañado de at o
de on. En este caso la diferencia es más cultural que
gramatical pues en inglés británico suelen usar at y
en estadounidense on.
Como ocurre con la
palabra Christmas, hay ocasiones en las que en inglés
americano se usa on y en británico at.
En estos casos ambos son correctos y decidirse por una u otra
depende del dialecto que quieras usar.
- At the
weekend y on the weekend son ambos
correctos.
Notice
the use of the prepositions of time in and on in
these common expressions:
in
|
on
|
in the morning
|
on Tuesday
morning
|
in the
mornings
|
on Saturday
mornings
|
in the
afternoon(s)
|
on Sunday
afternoons
|
in the
evening(s)
|
on Monday
evening
|
Be
careful!!!
When
we say last, next, every, this we do not also
use at, in, on.
I
went to London last June. (not in
last June)
He's
coming back next Tuesday. (not on
next Tuesday)
I
go home every Easter. (not at
every Easter)
We'll
call you this evening. (not in
this evening)
What
is the difference between “on
time” and “in
time”?
On
time =
at the planned time; neither late nor early: puntual
Peter
wants the meeting to start exactly on time.
He
wasn't on time. Él
no llegó a tiempo.
You
are never on time. Nunca
llegas a tiempo.
In
time =
with enough time to spare; before the last moment: a tiempo (para),
con tiempo (para)
He
would have died if they hadn't got him to the hospital in time.
He
was in time
for the meeting. Él llegó a tiempo para la reunión.
You
are just in time
for dinner. Llegas justo a tiempo para la cena.
What
is the difference between “in the end” and “at the end”?
In
the end =
finally, after a long time: finalmente
In
the end, I got a visa for Russia.
At
the end =
at the point where something stops: al final
I
think the film’s a bit weak at the end.
More information about
prepositions. IN/ON/AT
http://www.shertonenglish.com/resources/es/prepositions/prepositions-at-on-in-time.php
http://inglesparaprincipiantestutorrizo.blogspot.com.es/2012/06/uso-de-las-preposiciones-at-on-in.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZkdyMl9DL4
Para
practicar:
http://www.abingles.com/ingles-basico/preposiciones-in-at-on.aspx
http://www.aulafacil.com/Ingejerc/Lecciones/Ejerc27.htm
