Big Trouble with Three Little Words - In, On and At
2022-09-10
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1Hello! This week we answer a question from Sajador.
2I have a question about when we use "in," "on" and "at."
3I don't know when to use them.
4Thank you.
5Sajador.
6Dear Sajador,
7Thank you for writing to us.
8These little words cause a lot of trouble for English learners.
9They are called prepositions.
10One purpose of prepositions in English is to show the relationship between two or more things in time or place.
11These three words do follow some basic rules.
12It may be easier to think of them separately.
13Let's begin with location, or place.
14The first rule is to think of whether the place is general or exact.
15Here is an example of a general place, a city:
16I live in Washington, DC.
17We use "in" with cities, countries, neighborhoods, and places with a clear boundary or dividing line.
18Now, let us add some detail with our next example:
19I live on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.
20This shows that you can use "on" for streets.
21We are moving from the general - a city - to a more specific location - a street.
22If we add the intersection, or cross street, we are adding more detail, that is, we are talking about an exact location and we must use "at."
23I live at the corner of 16th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.
24Now 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!
25When you want to talk about a time something happens, you can also use "in," "on," and "at."
26I have a friend who is getting married soon. I can begin talking about the event this way.
27Caroline's wedding is in September.
28I use "in" because this is general information.
29Use "in" for months, years, and parts of days, such as morning or afternoon.
30Getting more specific, I can use "on" and the day of the week.
31Caroline's wedding is on Saturday, September 24.
32Finally, we can add the time, and use "at."
33Caroline's wedding is on Saturday, September 24 at 1:00 pm.
34I hope this helps you to use these little words with more confidence, Sajador.
35Just remember them in order (in-on-at) and that they help you go from general to exact information.
36What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
37And that's Ask a Teacher.
38I'm Jill Robbins.
39And I'm Andrew Smith.
1Hello! This week we answer a question from Sajador. 2Question: 3I have a question about when we use "in," "on" and "at." I don't know when to use them. 4Thank you. 5Sajador. 6Answer: 7Dear Sajador, 8Thank you for writing to us. These little words cause a lot of trouble for English learners. They are called prepositions. One purpose of prepositions in English is to show the relationship between two or more things in time or place. These three words do follow some basic rules. It may be easier to think of them separately. Let's begin with location, or place. 9Prepositions of place 10The first rule is to think of whether the place is general or exact. Here is an example of a general place, a city: 11I live in Washington, DC. 12We use "in" with cities, countries, neighborhoods, and places with a clear boundary or dividing line. Now, let us add some detail with our next example: 13I live on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. 14This shows that you can use "on" for streets. We are moving from the general - a city - to a more specific location - a street. If we add the intersection, or cross street, we are adding more detail, that is, we are talking about an exact location and we must use "at." 15I live at the corner of 16th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. 16Now 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! 17Prepositions of time 18When you want to talk about a time something happens, you can also use "in," "on," and "at." I have a friend who is getting married soon. I can begin talking about the event this way. 19Caroline's wedding is in September. 20I use "in" because this is general information. Use "in" for months, years, and parts of days, such as morning or afternoon. Getting more specific, I can use "on" and the day of the week. 21Caroline's wedding is on Saturday, September 24. 22Finally, we can add the time, and use "at." 23Caroline's wedding is on Saturday, September 24 at 1:00 pm. 24I hope this helps you to use these little words with more confidence, Sajador. Just remember them in order (in-on-at) and that they help you go from general to exact information. 25What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 26And that's Ask a Teacher. 27I'm Jill Robbins. 28And I'm Andrew Smith. 29You can see more examples in the video below and the pictures showing the prepositions and their uses. 30Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 31____________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33boundary - n. any line or thing marking a limit, bound or border 34specific - adj. precise; definite; explicit 35intersection - n. a place where roads or other lines meet or cross. 36corner - n. a point or an area where two or more streets, sides, or surfaces of something join 37confidence -n. a feeling of belief that you can do something correctly 38Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 39Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them.