Preposition of places, dates and times

At, On and In
Before place names:

“In” is used before the names of

countries, states, towns, cities, and roads.

Thus, you can say

“I live in Australia / in Kedah / in Petaling Jaya

/ in Dungun / in Jalan Indah.”

“On” is used before the names

of islands and hills.

Examples

“She lives on Pulau Langkawi / on the Isle of Man,

on Penang Hill / on Lavender Hill.”

“At” is used for smaller places,

like buildings, blocks of flats, etc.

For example,

“I live at Indah Flats and

I work at the Petronas Twin Towers.”

Before dates and times:

“In” is used before months and years,

“on” is used before a day or a particular date in a month, and

“at” is used before a particular time.

For example, you can say:

“I was born on the 3rd of August 1967, at 8.45 am.”

OR “I was born on Monday.”

OR “I was born in August.”

OR “I was born in 1967.”

School – “At school” when answering a question such as:

“Where’s your daughter this morning?”

The phrase also means “attending school” as in the sentence:

“Two of my children are still at school.”

In American English, the phrase “in school” is used.

Field – “In the field” when referring to a field with crops,

such as a paddy field or a wheat field.

Usually “on the field” when referring to a playing field

such as a football field,

Example

“The players are already on the field,

waiting for the match to begin.”

If a field is a meeting point for you and a friend,

you can say:

“Meet me at the school field tomorrow.”

Hospital – If you are ill and have a bed in a hospital ward,

you are “in hospital”.

If you are visiting someone there,

you are “at the hospital.”

Playground – “in the playground”.

Airport – “at the airport”

Market –“At the market” when referring to a place

such as a fish, meat and vegetable market.

Shop – “In the shop” if you’re actually inside one of them.

But if someone phones and asks your daughter where you are,

she would say you’re “at the shop”.

Farm – Usually, “on the farm”;

sometimes “at the farm”.

Sea – We swim in the sea,

but we sail on the sea.

If someone is on a long voyage,

he can be said to be “at sea”,

but this phrase can also mean “confused or lost”.

Beach – Usually, “on the beach”;

sometimes, “at the beach”.

Prepositions of place and position

Prepositions of place and position

1. at, in, on, against

We use the prepositions at, in, on and against differently in these ways:

a) At – to show the exact location of a person or thing, or a particular point.

Example:

Joe is at the back of the bus. (exact location)

The writer’s signature is at the bottom of the page.

(at a particular point)

b) In –to point to an enclosed area or something which has volume.

Example:

There’s a crack in the mirror. (enclosed area)

There are a lot of beautiful illustrations in this book. (volume)

c) On – to show that a person or thing is in a higher position than something and is touching or
covering its surface.

Example:

The acrobat is standing on the tightrope.

(touching the surface)

The chairman report is on page 5

(covering the surface)

d) Against – to someone or something is next to and touching the surface of something or being
supported by it.

Example:
I prefer to have my desk against the wall.

(next to and touching the wall)

John is leaning against hi car.

(being supported by the car)

2. before, after, on the left/right, to the left/right.

We use before and after to show which person or thing is closer to us and is further from us.

We use to the left and to the right to show on which side of a person or thing another person or thing
is:

Example:

The railway station is before the public library.

The public library is after the railway station.

The railway station is to the left of the public library.

The post office is to the right of the public library.

NOTE: if we are standing in front of the public library and facing the road, we would describe the
position of the railway station and the post office in this way:

The railway station is on my right.

The post office is on my left.

3. Across, along, opposite

We use the prepositions across, along, and opposite in these ways:

a) Across – To point to the other side of a line or space.

Example: Helen lives across the road from me.

b) Along – To point to someone or something located next to a space which has a long thin shape. For
example a road or a river.

Example: Larry lives along Smith Street.

c) Opposite – To point to someone or something directly facing a person or a space

Example: Kim sat opposite John during dinner.

(the table is between them)

Jenny’s favourite bakery is opposite a toy shop.

(the road is between the two shops)

Remember:

In the expression the opposite of, the opposite is a noun, not a preposition. The opposite of is used to
show that someone or something is very different from the person or thing compared with.

Example:

David is the opposite of James. James likes to be with people but David prefers to be by himself.

The word ‘happy’ is the opposite of ‘sad’.

Remember:

The preposition before can also be used to mean in front of.

Example:

The little boy stood before his parent’s guests and sang confidently.

4. inside, outside

We use inside and outside to show that a person or thing is in an enclosed area or in something which
has volume.

We use outside to show the person or thing is not inside something. When we use inside and outside,
we do not use the preposition of after them.

Example:

The children are inside the car.

The workmen are standing outside the construction site.

Prepositions of Position

Prepositions of Position

1. “at, on, in,”

Example,

I live at 155, Jalan Tembikai, Bukit Mertajam.

I live in Bukit Mertajam.

Mei Ling lives on the second floor of that flat.

“At” when we state the address

“In” we state the town

“On” we state the floor or level of the apartment.

2. “In” & “at”

“At” show a person or thing is at an exact location

or a particular point.

“In” show a person or thing is

inside something or in an enclosed area.

Example,

My mum is at the supermarket. (Not the bakery)

My mum is in the supermarket. (Not outside it)

3. “in,” & “on”

“In” show a person or thing below or partly below the surface of something.
“On” show a person or thing is just touching a line or the surface of something.

Example,

Tom’s in the pool.

There’s a paper on the water.

4. “Beside”, & “besides”

“Beside” means “next to”

The museum is beside an art gallery.

“Besides” means “in addition to”

She owns another restaurant besides the one in Penang.

‘yet’ how it is used

Look at the use of “yet” in the following sentences?

1. “When’s your holiday?” “Oh, not for ages yet.”

2. It could be months yet before they know their fate.

3. The election won’t take place for three weeks yet.

4. She won’t be back for a long time yet.

5. Our holiday isn’t for weeks yet.

6. Ron and Charlene will be in Florida for another six days yet.

“yet” is often used in negative sentences to talk about something that hasn’t happened so far,

but is expected to happen later.

When a period of time is mentioned,

“yet” indicates “from now until the period of time mentioned has passed” (OALD), and can also be
used for this purpose in affirmative (positive) sentences.
 We see this use of “yet” in the second sentence in 1 and in sentences 3, 4 and 5 (all negative
sentences),

but also in sentence 6 (an affirmative sentence):

In sentence 1,

“… not for ages yet” the period of time mentioned is “ages” (a long time, but the exact time is
unspecified), and this period of time must pass before the speaker goes on his holiday.

In sentence 2,

“It could be months yet before they know their fate.”

“yet” is used in a slightly different way.

It is used with “could” in an affirmative sentence to say that something (i.e. months before they know
their fate) could,

but is unlikely to be true in the future. This means that it is unlikely they will have to wait so long to
know their fate.

In sentence 3,

“The election won’t take place for three weeks yet.”,

the period of time mentioned is “three weeks” and it is only after this period has passed that the
election will take place.

In sentence 4,

“She won’t be back for a long time yet.”,

the period of time is similar to that in 1, i.e. “a long time”, with no exact figures given. It is only after
this period that she will be back.

In sentence 5,

“Our holiday isn’t for weeks yet.”,

the period of time is “weeks”

(without the number of weeks being mentioned)

and means that we won’t have “our holiday” now,

or this week, but several weeks later.

In sentence 6,
which is an affirmative sentence,

the period of time mentioned in the sentence is six days, which indicates the number of days left from
now that Ron and Charlene will be in Florida,

or the number of days left before they leave Florida.

Prepositions of Time and Duration

1. to, From…..to, until

We use ‘to’ when we want to point to an exact time before the stated hour.

We use ‘from…..to’ to point to a period between the time when an activity or event begins (from) and
when it ends (to).

When we use ‘until’, we are also dealing with the period of time but the focus is on when the activity
or event ends.

Examples:

The annual general meeting ended at a quarter to six.

(The meeting ended at 5.45 p.m.)

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

(It is open for seven hours.)

They were playing football until dusk.

(The game ended at dusk.)

Remember:

Till and up to have the same meaning as until.

Till is more common in conversations.

Till and up to are use in conversation and in formal contexts.

Examples:

The baby kept me awake till 1 a.m.

Up to 1990, our school won the inter-school debating championship every year. In 1991, however, we
lost to Jit Sin Secondary School.

Until can also be used with verbs in their negative forms to mean ‘not before the time stated’.
Example:

I didn’t finish mopping the house until 11 a.m.

(I did not finish mopping the house before 11 a.m. I only finished it at 11 a.m.)

2. at, between…and

We use at to point to exact times.

We use between…and to point out that an action takes place after a stated time and before the
second stated time.

Examples:

Eric will arrive at your house at 4 o’clock this evening.

Sue will arrive at your house between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock this evening.

(We do not know the exact time when Sue will arrive).

The company suffered losses between 1990 and 1992.

3. for, since

We use for to point to how long an activity, and event or situation continues or lasts (minutes, hours,
days, months or years).

We use since with an event or time in the past to point out that the activity, event or situation is going
on from that time to now.

Examples:

Lee stayed with her friend for a month before returning home.

John has been here since Friday.

4. We do not use the preposition of time in and on before noun groups that begin with the
demonstrative adjective this.

Examples:

Mr. Wilson will be retiring this month. (right)

Mr. Wilson will be retiring in this month. (wrong)

I will see you this Friday. (right)

I will see you on this Friday. (wrong)

Remember:

The preposition at, in and on cannot be used before each, every, next, one and last.

In or at for place and time

‘In’ and ‘at’

Place

We use “in” before the name of

a continent,

a country,

a state and

a town,

Examples:

in Asia, in Europe, in China, in Germany, in Johor, in Florida, in Kuala

Lumpur, in London.

British English usually uses “in” before the name of a street or road,

while American English usually uses “on”,

Examples:

in Oxford Street, London; in London Road, Leicester;

on 42nd Street, New York; on Main Street, Columbus, Ohio.

At a location such as a building, including our own house, we use “at”,

Examples:

“I live at 155 Jalan Tembikai, Bukit Mertajam.”;

“Meet me at the Central Market/Bukit Jalil Stadium, etc.”

You say you are “at home” when you are in the house or flat you live in.

In British English, if you are still a pupil of a school,

you say: “I am still at school”;

if you are a college or university student

you say “I am studying at college/university.”

But if you haven’t come home from school yet and someone asks your mother
where you are, she can,

For example,

reply: “My son/daughter is still at/in school, practising for Sports Day.”

If your father is working late, and someone asks you where your father is,

you say “He is still at work.” or

“ He is still at the office.”

There is a very important distinction between “at a/the hospital” and “in hospital”.

You can say that a doctor works at a hospital,

but a patient who occupies a hospital bed is in hospital.

Such a person is said to be hospitalized,

not “warded” as some Malaysians like to say.

When you are in a car driven by someone else,

you can be in the front seat or in a back seat.

When you are the driver of the car,

you are said to be at the steering wheel of the car.

Time
We use “in” before the names of

centuries, decades,

years and months,

but “on” before the name of a day,

or a certain date in a month.

And we use “at” before the hours.

For example,

if someone’s birth certificate includes the following particulars

– “2.30pm, Monday 20.12.1976”,

we can say that she was born:

at 2.30 pm

on Monday

in December

on the 20th day of that month

in 1976

in the 20th century

in the eighth decade of that century

When speaking of the times of the year/month/week,

we say “at the beginning of the year/month/week ,

“at the end of the year/month/week”,

BUT “in the middle of the year/month/week”.

But when speaking of a weekend,

we say “at the weekend” or “over the weekend”

When speaking of the times of the day,

we say in the morning/afternoon/evening,

BUT at night.

Finally, we say “at present”,

BUT “in the past” and “in the future”.