How and When to Use the Prepositions IN / ON / AT in English

I’m willing to bet, at least once in all time, you had a question, how to remember all these English prepositions. Today, I will lighten your life a lot, since I know exactly the «recipe» of the correct use of the most common English prepositions – IN / ON / AT.

So, we use these prepositions, when we speak about the time and place. Independently, whether we speak about the time or the place, these prepositions have common traits.

Prepositions of Time and Place: IN / ON / AT (photo 1)

IN always has a general meaning and is measured with the largest units. So, with this preposition, we will use the largest categories of both time and space:

TIME	PLACE
Centuries the 1900`s	Countries France, Italy
Decades the 60`s	Cities Paris, New York
Years 2021, 1987	Neighborhood Manhattan
Months March, June	Enclosed Spaces A car, a cafe
Weeks 9 weeks
Seasons spring, summer
Periods of Time the future/past/present
Parts of the Day the morning/evening

Here are some examples:

My mother was born in the 1980`s, but people think she is my sister!
John was popular in the late 80’s.
I couldn`t travel a lot in 2020.
I adore sunbathing and swimming in summer.
I wanted to become a teacher in the past.
I usually drink a cup of hot green tea in the morning.
My friend and I always dreamt to live in France.
There are a lot of nice places in Paris.
When in rains, I like to sit in a cozy café and read a book.

Lifehack: When we use IN with “week/month/year…”, we almost always mean the future tense.

Sorry, can`t talk right now, I`ll call you in 2 hours!
I will go abroad in 2 weeks, it`s time to pack my baggage.

When we use ON, we speak about less general notions. Let’s look at the use of this preposition more in detail:

TIME	PLACE
Time (of the week) the weekend, the workday	Streets Bankivska Street
Days Monday, Sunday	Avenues Obolon Avenue (проспект)
Dates April, 3d	Surfaces table, grass, floor
Specific Days My Birthday	Means of transport a bus, a plane
Day+Part of Day Wednesday morning	Communications the radio, the TV
Holidays with “Day” Christmas Day, Easter Day

Here is the most appropriate context for these phrases:

I want to go to the cinema on the weekend, will you join me?
I prefer jogging on Saturdays, not on Mondays.
I’m going to visit my Dad on March, 17th, so glad i`ll see him!
I got a lot of nice surprises on my Birthday.
I love to sit near a fireplace and drink hot cocoa on Christmas.

I`m on Bankivska Street near the Christmas tree. Where are you?
When you are on the Obolon Avenue – call me, i`ll tell you where to go.
Where are my keys to the car?! - They were on the table.
I am on the plane this evening, so don`t call me.
I have watched this program on TV yesterday! It`s so cool!

Lifehack: If you want to stress that you are simply situated in public transport, use IN:

I`m waiting for you in the car, hurry up!

If it should be pointed out that we move on public transport, we say ON:

I`m on the bus, can`t hear you well! Call me back in 10 minutes.

Prepositions of Time and Place: IN / ON / AT (photo 3)

When we talk about the maximally concrete time or place, we will use AT:

TIME	PLACE
Hours 9 p.m., 6 a.m.	Addresses 57 Obolon Avenue
Time at the moment	Specific location at the station, at work
Holidays without “day” Christmas

Here are some examples:

My boyfriend usually meets me at 9 p.m. near my workplace.
I`m planning to go abroad at Christmas, what about you?
I used to live at 23 Obolon Avenue.
I`ll be at the station at 7 p.m. tomorrow.

Now, I’m sure that you will manage to figure out what prepositions to use! And if everything were this simple – this article would be much shorter. In English, like in any other language, there are the exceptions.

1. We DON’T use any other prepositions with the words “next/ last/ this + time”:

This year I will go to the sea.
I lost my keys last Monday.
I hope to see you next year!

2. We DON’T use IN / ON with the words “yesterday”, “tomorrow”:

I have a meeting tomorrow.
The concert was yesterday.

Of course, English is hard, and there are many more exceptions. But for our general understanding, these rules will be alpha and omega, the basis for the new superstructure. I have prepared a small quiz for you: https://bit.ly/3hmvsrf.

If even it is not enough for you, and you would like to practice the reading material, to master and to check your knowledge not only of those, but of the other prepositions in English, I recommend you the interactive online course for the self-studying booyya for the на 13 lessons "The most widespread prepositions for the primary levels" https://bit.ly/3jdBUEp.

XOXO, guys!

Prepositions of Time and Place: IN / ON / AT