VOA名师答疑 介词in, on, at

Hello!

大家好!

This week we answer a question from Sajador.

本周，我们回答萨哈多的一个问题。

I have a question about when we use "in," "on" and "at."

我有一个问题：什么时候用in，on，at？

I don't know when to use them.

我不知道什么时候用这几个词。

Thank you. Sajador.

谢谢。萨哈多。

Dear Sajador, thank you for writing to us.

亲爱的萨哈多，谢谢你的来信。

These little words cause a lot of trouble for English learners.

这几个小词给英语学习者带来了很大的麻烦。

They are called prepositions¹.

它们被称为介词。

One purpose of prepositions in English is to show the relationship between two or more things in time or place.

英语介词的一个用途是表示两个或两个以上事物在时间或地点上的关系。

These three words do follow some basic rules.

这三个词确实遵循一些基本规则。

It may be easier to think of them separately.

把它们分开来看可能会更简单一些。

Let's begin with location, or place.

我们先讲位置或者说地点。

The first rule is to think of whether the place is general or exact.

第一条规则是想一想地点是笼统的还是准确的。

Here is an example of a general place, a city: I live in Washington, DC.

举一个笼统地点的例子，比如一个城市：我住在华盛顿特区。

We use "in" with cities, countries, neighborhoods, and places with a clear boundary or dividing line.

表示城市、国家、社区和有明确边界或分界线的地方时，用in。

Now, let us add some detail with our next example: I live on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.

现在，我们在下一个例子中添加一些细节：我住在华盛顿特区的宾夕法尼亚大道。

This shows that you can use "on" for streets.

这表明你可以用on表示街道。

We are moving from the general -- a city -- to a more specific location: a street.

我们从笼统的地点(城市) 转向了更具体的地点(街道)。

If we add the intersection², or cross street, we are adding more detail, that is, we are talking about an exact location and we must use "at."

如果加上十字路口或交叉街道，那就有了更多细节，也就是说，我们谈论的是一个确切的位置，必须用at。

I live at the corner of 16th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.

我住在华盛顿特区第16街和宾夕法尼亚大道的拐角处。

Now you know the exact place the speaker lives and can guess that it might be the U.S. President, who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!

现在你知道说话者的确切住处了，可以猜到那可能是住在宾夕法尼亚大道1600号的美国总统！

When you want to talk about a time something happens, you can also use "in," "on," and "at."

当你想谈论某事发生的时间时，也可以用in、on和at。

I have a friend who is getting married soon.

我有一个朋友，他很快就要结婚了。

I can begin talking about the event this way.

我可以这样开始谈论这一事件。

Caroline’s wedding is in September.

卡罗琳的婚礼将在9月份举行。

I use "in" because this is general information.

我用in是因为这是笼统的信息。

Use "in" for months, years, and parts of days, such as morning or afternoon.

表示月份、年份或一天中的部分时间，如上午或下午，用in。

Getting more specific, I can use "on" and the day of the week.

要是更具体一些，可以用on和星期几。

Caroline’s wedding is on Saturday, September 24.

卡罗琳的婚礼将于9月24日星期六举行。

Finally, we can add the time, and use "at."

最后，可以添加时间，并使用at。

Caroline’s wedding is on Saturday, September 24 at 1:00 pm.

卡罗琳的婚礼将于9月24日星期六下午1点举行

I hope this helps you to use these little words with more confidence, Sajador.

希望这能帮助你更有把握地使用这些小词，萨哈多。

Just remember them in order (in-on-at) and that they help you go from general to exact information.

只需记住这几个词的顺序(in，on，at)，表达的信息从笼统到准确。

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

以上就是本期《名师答疑》。

I’m Jill Robbins.

我是吉尔·罗宾斯。

And I’m Andrew Smith.

我是安德鲁·史密斯。

1 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》

2 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。