A1Prepositions

Prepositions of Place

What is it?

Prepositions of place show WHERE something is located. Most important: IN (inside/enclosed): "in the box" / "in London"; ON (surface/contact): "on the table" / "on the wall"; AT (specific point): "at home" / "at the corner". Others: UNDER (below), ABOVE (higher), BEHIND (back of), IN FRONT OF (front of), NEXT TO (beside), BETWEEN (in the middle of two), AMONG (in the middle of many). Key patterns: IN for cities/countries/rooms, ON for surfaces/streets, AT for buildings/addresses/points.

How to form it

Subject	Positive	Negative	Question
IN (inside/enclosed)	in the box, in the room, in London, in the car, in the park	not in	Where is it? (inside)
ON (surface/contact)	on the table, on the wall, on the floor, on Main Street, on the bus	not on	Where is it? (surface)
AT (specific point)	at home, at school, at the corner, at 123 Main St, at the top	not at	Where is it? (point)
Position relative	under (below), above (higher), behind (back), in front of (front)	not used	Where exactly?
Near/beside	next to, beside, by, near, close to, opposite	not used	Where nearby?
Between/among	between (two things), among (many things), in the middle of	not used	Where in relation?

• IN: inside/enclosed spaces → in the box, in the room, in the car
• IN: cities/countries/continents → in London, in France, in Europe
• ON: surfaces/contact → on the table, on the wall, on the floor
• ON: streets (but AT for addresses) → on Main Street vs at 123 Main Street
• ON: public transport (bus, train, plane) → on the bus (but: in the car/taxi)
• AT: specific points/locations → at home, at school, at work, at the corner
• AT: addresses/buildings → at 123 Main Street, at the station
• UNDER vs BELOW: under (directly beneath), below (lower, not necessarily direct)
• ABOVE vs OVER: above (higher), over (covering/directly above)
• BETWEEN (two), AMONG (more than two) → between two people, among many people

When to use it

1
IN — inside enclosed spaces
"in the box" / "in the room" / "in the house" / "in the car" / "in the garden" / "in the bottle"
2
IN — cities, countries, continents
"in London" / "in France" / "in Europe" / "in New York" / "in Japan" / "in Asia"
3
ON — surfaces, contact with surface
"on the table" / "on the wall" / "on the floor" / "on the ceiling" / "on the page" / "on the screen"
4
ON — streets (but AT for full addresses)
"I live on Main Street." (street only) vs "I live at 123 Main Street." (full address)
5
AT — specific points, buildings, institutions
"at home" / "at school" / "at work" / "at the station" / "at the corner" / "at the door" / "at the top/bottom"
6
Relative position — under, above, behind, in front of, next to
"under the table" / "above the door" / "behind the house" / "in front of the car" / "next to the school"
7
BETWEEN (two) vs AMONG (more than two)
"between two trees" / "between you and me" vs "among the crowd" / "among many people"

Common mistakes

in the bus

on the bus (but: in the car/taxi)

Use ON for public transport (bus, train, plane), but IN for private vehicles (car, taxi).

at London / at France

in London / in France

Use IN for cities and countries, not AT.

on home / on school

at home / at school

Use AT for home, school, work as locations (institutions).

in Main Street

on Main Street

Use ON for streets (but AT for full addresses: at 123 Main Street).

between many people

among many people (use between for two only)

Use BETWEEN for two things, AMONG for more than two.

Quick reference

IN: inside/enclosed → in the box, in the room, in London, in France
ON: surface/contact → on the table, on the wall, on Main Street
ON: public transport → on the bus/train/plane (but: in the car)
AT: specific point → at home, at school, at the corner, at 123 Main St
UNDER: below/beneath → under the table
BEHIND: back of → behind the house
NEXT TO: beside → next to the school
BETWEEN (two) vs AMONG (many) → between two / among the crowd

Natural conversation example

Giving directions

Tom

Excuse me, where's the library?

Lisa

It's on Main Street, next to the bank.

Tom

Is it in the big building at the corner?

Lisa

No, that's the post office. The library is between the bank and the cafe.

Tom

Oh, I see it now! There's a park in front of it, right?

Lisa

Yes! And there's parking behind the building.

Tom

Perfect! Thank you so much!

Practice Exercises

Complete with prepositions of place.

1.
The book is the table. (surface)
2.
I live London. (city)
3.
She is school. (institution)
4.
The cat is the sofa. (below)
5.
The library is the bank and the cafe. (two things)
6.
I travel the bus. (public transport)

Prepositions (overview)All Topics Prepositions of Time

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