VOA日常语法--In, On and At: Prepositions of Time and Place

When English speakers talk about time and place, there are three little words that often come up: in, on, and at. These common words are prepositions² that show a relationship between two words in a sentence.

Some prepositions are rather easy for English learners to understand: behind, over, under, next to, etc...

But these little two-letter prepositions seem to create confusion³. Here are a few rules to help you understand when to use in, on, and at in a sentence.

For describing time and place, the prepositions in, on, and at go from general to specific.

Prepositions and Time

Let's start by looking at how we talk about time. English speakers use in to refer to a general, longer period of time, such as months, years, decades, or centuries. For example, we say "in April," "in 2015" or "in the 21st century."Moving to shorter, more specific periods of time, we use on to talk about particular days, dates, and holidays . You may hear, "I went to work on Monday," or "Let's have a picnic on Memorial Day."For the most specific times, and for holidays without the word "day," we use at. That means you will hear, "Meet me at midnight," or "The flowers are in bloom⁴ at Easter time."Prepositions and Place

When English speakers refer to a place, we use in for the largest or most general places. You can say that "VOA is located in Washington, D.C." And "for the best food, try the restaurants in Chinatown."For more specific places, like certain streets, we use the preposition¹ on. You may know that President Obama lives on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Finally, we get to the most specific places. For exact addresses or intersections⁶, we use the preposition at. If I invited you to visit us here at VOA, I would say, "Come to my office at 330 Independence Avenue." To be exact, it's at the corner of Independence and 3rd Street."In English, though, there is always an 'exception⁷ to the rule.' When talking about transportation, things get a little hard to understand. We use on for public vehicles like buses or trains, but also for smaller ones like a bicycle. "I rode there on my bicycle." However, you ride in a car.

Still, it helps to know that English prepositions do have some rules.

Following the "general to specific" rule should help you most of the time.

I'm Jill Robbins.

And, I'm Ashley Thompson.

Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for Learning⁸ English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

Now it's your turn. What helps you to remember the prepositions in English? Do you have any grammar tips you'd like to share? Write to us in the Comments section or on our Facebook page.

Words in This Story

general - adj. relating to the main or major parts of something rather than the details

specific - adj. clearly and exactly presented or stated : precise⁹ or exact

intersection⁵ - n. the place where two or more streets meet or cross each other

1 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

2 prepositions   

n.介词( preposition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She lays a lot of emphasis on the usage of prepositions. 她把重点放在介词的使用上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Prepositions and conjunctions are particles. 介词和连词是小品词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

4 bloom   

n.花，花期；vi.开花；容光焕发，显露出健康

参考例句：

• The park is a picture when flowers are in bloom.当鲜花盛开时，这个公园的景色美极了。
• The flowers in the garden are now in full bloom.花园里的花盛开。

5 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

6 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

7 exception   

n.例外,除外

参考例句：

• Everyone should keep discipline and you are no exception. 每个人都应该遵守纪律,你也毫无例外。
• There's an exception to every rule. 每项规则均有例外。

8 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

9 precise   

adj.精确的，恰好的，极清楚的

参考例句：

• At that precise moment, Miss Pulteney came into the office.就在那时，普尔特尼小姐走进了办公室。
• A scientist must be precise in making tests.科学家做试验必须精确。