Prepositions of Position — in, at, on

Introduction

Using “in” as a Preposition of Position

Look at the following examples of IN.

Prepositional Phrase	Example
in a line in a row	The flowers are planted in a line. The seats are in a row.
in a field in a park in a garden in a room in a city	Look at that horse in the field. Let's play ball in the park. We have beautiful roses planted in a garden. We keep our boxes stored in a room. They live in San Diego.
in the lake in the water in the ocean	Greg went swimming in Elk Lake. The dog dropped the ball in the water. We had a wonderful time swimming in the Pacific Ocean.
in an armchair Note the difference: on a chair	I like to sit in that red armchair. It is more comfortable than sitting on the brown chair.
in a mirror in a photo in the sky	The actor is looking at himself in the mirror. I can't see you in the photo. Are you in it? Did you see that falling star in the sky?
Corners: Use in or at for a corner that is outside (on the street): at / on a corner. Use in for a corner that is inside a room: in a corner	I will meet you on the corner by the bank. Let's meet at/on the corner of Main Street and Hastings Street. The desk is in the corner of the living room.
in (the) front of in the front in the back Note: We say: on the back of the envelope on the back of the newspaper on the front of the newspaper in the middle of the newspaper	The park is in front of the lake. I was sitting in the front of the class. The children are in the back of the car. Write your address on the back of the envelope. We read the story on the back of the newspaper. The most popular story was on the front page of the newspaper. We found the advertisement in the middle of the newspaper.

Using “at” as a Preposition of Position

Look at these examples of AT.

Prepositional Phrase	Example
at the desk at the window at the door at the train station at the bus stop	Cathy is sitting at her desk and doing her work. The cat sat at the window for most of the day. Someone is at the door. Please answer it! We met at the London train station. The children waited at the bus stop.

Using “on” as a Preposition of Position

Look at these examples of ON.

Prepositional Phrase	Example
on the chair on the grass on the floor on the notice board on the door on the middle shelf on your nose	The little boy sat on the big chair. The dog is sleeping on the grass. He dropped his pencil on the floor. The soccer club put a poster on the notice board. I put a notice on the door. Please put the cup on the middle shelf. There is a spot on your nose.
on the left (side) on the right (side) on the second floor	The flower shop is on the left side. The coffee shop in on the right side. Get out of the elevator on the second floor and look for it on the left.
on the way on a lake on a river on a small island on the coast	I often buy a coffee on my way to work. We saw a beautiful boat on the lake. They built a huge dam on the Colorado River. Haley lives on Salt Spring Island on the Pacific Coast. She loves living on the coast.

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