Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

We use:
at for a PRECISE TIME
in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
on for DAYS and DATES
at in on
PRECISE
TIME
MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG
PERIODS
DAYS and DATES
at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday
at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays
at noon in the summer on 6 March
at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec. 2010
at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas Day
at sunrise in the next century on Independence
Day
at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday
at the moment in the past/future on New Year's Eve
Look at these examples:
I have a meeting at 9am.
The shop closes at midnight.
Jane went home at lunchtime.
In England, it often snows in December.
Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
Do you work on Mondays?
Her birthday is on 20 November.
Where will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
Expression Example
at night The stars shine at night.
at the weekend* I don't usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas*/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas.
at the same time We finished the test at the same time.
at present He's not home at present. Try later.
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
in on
in the morning on Tuesday morning
in the mornings on Saturday mornings
in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons
in the evening(s) on Monday evening
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
I went to London last June. (not in last June)
He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)


Prepositions of Place: at, in, on
In general, we use:
at for a POINT
in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
on for a SURFACE
at in on
POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE
at the corner in the garden on the wall
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
at the door in France on the door
at the top of the page in a box on the cover
at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor
at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
at the crossroads in a building on the menu
at the front desk in a car on a page
Look at these examples:
Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
The shop is at the end of the street.
My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
When will you arrive at the office?
Do you work in an office?
I have a meeting in New York.
Do you live in Japan?
Jupiter is in the Solar System.
The author's name is on the cover of the book.
There are no prices on this menu.
You are standing on my foot.
There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
at in on
at home in a car on a bus
at work in a taxi on a train
at school in a helicopter on a plane
at university in a boat on a ship
at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television
at the side in a row on the left, on the right
at reception in Oxford Street on the way



In / At / On

Son unas de las preposiciones ms comunes que se pueden usar para indicar lugar o tiempo: in, at y on.

IN
Significado: en, dentro, dentro de
Uso (lugar): Se usa para indicar tanto espacios cerrados como espacios abiertos. Lo utilizamos para indicar que algo est dentro de
una cosa, en un lugar cerrado, o en el interior de algo fsicamente. Sin embargo, como vemos en los ejemplos, tambin se utiliza para
indicar que se est en un lugar geogrfico.

Ejemplos:
PlayI live in Brighton. (Vivo en Brighton.)
PlayThe cat is in the box. (El gato est dentro la caja.)
PlayI found your address in the phone book. (He encontrado tu direccin en la gua telefnica.)
PlayMy parents arrive in France on Monday. (Mis padres llegan a Francia el lunes.)
Uso (tiempo): Lo utilizamos con meses, aos, pocas, partes del da y perodos de tiempo (duracin).

Ejemplos:
PlayWe went to Mexico in May. (Fuimos a Mjico en mayo.)
PlayI always run in the mornings. (Siempre corro por las maanas.)
PlayI will see him in a week. (Le ver en una semana.)
PlayShe was born in 1976. (Naci en 1976.)
AT
Significado: en, a, al, cerca de, tocando
Uso (lugar): Se usa delante de edificios como casas, aeropuertos, universidades (para indicar que estamos dentro), antes de "top"
(parte superior), "bottom" (parte inferior), "the end of" (al final de), para indicar acontecimientos como reuniones, fiestas, conciertos,
deportes, etc..., detrs de "arrive" (llegar) cuando nos referimos a lugares que no sean ciudades o pases.

Ejemplos:
PlayHe is at home. (l est en casa.)
PlayI always visit my sister at work. (Siempre visito a mi hermana en el trabajo.)
PlayWe eat at the table. (Comemos en la mesa.)
PlayShe will see him at the theatre. (Le ver en el teatro.)
PlayHer name is at the bottom of the page. (Su nombre est en la parte inferior de la pgina.)
PlayWhen did you arrive at the airport? (Cundo llegaste al aeropuerto?)
Uso (tiempo): Lo utilizamos delante de la hora y de fiestas.

Ejemplos:
PlayHe runs every morning at 6. (l corre cada maana a las 6.)
PlayI will see them at Christmas. (Les ver en Navidad.)
ON
Significado: sobre, encima de algo, tocando
Uso (lugar): Se coloca delante de nombres de lugares con base como mesas, suelos, etc, cuando nos referimos a lugares de una
habitacin como techo o pared y para indicar que alguien est dentro de un transporte pblico o en una planta de un edificio.

Ejemplos:
PlayThe pen is on the table. (El bolgrafo est sobre la mesa.)
PlayThey have a photograph of Paris on the wall. (Tienen una foto de Pars en la pared.)
PlayI am on the bus. (Estoy en el autobs.)
PlayHer apartment is on the second floor. (Su piso est en la segunda planta.)
Uso (tiempo): Lo utilizamos con das de la semana, fechas y fiestas.

Ejemplos:
PlayThey went to Mexico on the first of May. (Fueron a Mjico a primeros de mayo.)
PlayHe runs on Mondays and Fridays. (l corre los lunes y los viernes.)
PlayI will see Luis on his birthday. (Ver a Luis en su cumpleaos.)
Some advanced examples:
If the boys are attending classes at the moment you can say: The boys are AT school.
But it would also be correct to say: The boys are IN school.
However, if they were not attending classes at the moment but were there for a basketball game you would say: The boys are AT THE
school.
But, if you were standing outside of the school you would say: The boys are IN THE school.
Not to confuse you, but the use of "at" or "to" can give a sentence a completely different meaning.
John threw the ball TO Juan.
John threw the ball AT Juan.
The first sentence indicates that they were playing ball and John threw the ball so Juan could catch it.
The second sentence indicates that John was angry at Juan and threw the ball in anger or to hurt him!
So if you were at the beach and someone threw sand towards you, you would say:
He threw sand AT me.
So you would say, "She threw the snowball AT him." Unless, of course, she was tossing him the snowball so he could throw it at
someone else, then you would say: "She threw the snowball TO him".
Hope that helps!






Usamos "at" para:
At + lugares comunes

At home - En casa
At school - En la escuela
At work - En el trabajo
At university - En la universidad
At the dentist's - En el dentista
At the movies - En el cine
At the theater - En el teatro
At the airport - En el aeropuerto
At the library - En la biblioteca
At the doctor's - En el doctor
At the bank - En el banco
At a concert - En el concierto
At a meeting - En la reunin
At a party - En la fiesta
At John's - En lo de John
At Laura's - En lo de Laura
At + lugares especficos


At Madison Square Garden
At Kennedy Airport
At Buckingham Palace
At the University of Florida
At + direcciones y domicilios

At 2354 Rivadavia Avenue
At 3456 Belgrano Street
At + ciertas cosas o posiciones


At the top - En la cima / arriba de todo
At the bottom - En el fondo / debajo de todo
At the side - A un lado/costado
At the front - En el frente
At the back - En la parte de atrs
At the end - Al final
At the door - En la puerta
At the window - En la ventana
At the reception - En la recepcin
Usamos "on" para:
On + superficies


On the floor - En el piso
On the ceiling - En el techo
On the table - En la mesa
On the chair - En la silla
On the list - En la lista
On the map - En el mapa
On the beach - En la playa
On the shelf - En el estante
On + medios de transporte

On a ship - En un barco
On a train - En un tren
On a plane - En un avin
On a bus - En un autobs
On a bicycle - En una bicicleta
On a motorcycle - En una motocicleta
On a horse - A caballo
On a ferry - En un transbordador
On + partes del cuerpo

On my leg - En mi pierna
On your arm - En tu brazo
On his shoulder - En su hombro
On + direcciones

On the left - A la izquierda
On the right - A la derecha
On the way - En el camino
On + ciertas cosas y lugares


On the radio - En la radio
On television - En la TV
On a farm - En una granja
Usamos "in" para:
In + pases

In Argentina
In Spain
In Mexico
In + ciudades

In New York
In Madrid
In Mexico City
In + habitaciones


In the bathroom - En el bao
In the kitchen - En la cocina
In the bedroom - En el dormitorio
In + cuerpos de agua

In the sea - En el mar
In the water - En el agua
In a river - En un ro
In the ocean - En el ocano
In + clima/tiempo

In the rain - En la lluvia
In the sun - En el sol
In the wind - En el viento
In the fog - En la neblina
In + ciertos lugares y expresiones

In prison - En prisin
In hospital - En el hospital
In bed - En la cama
In Oak Street - En la calle Oak
In a line - En una cola
In a row - En fila
In a queue - En una cola
In the sky - En el cielo
In a book - En libro
In a magazine - En una revista
In a letter - En una carta
In a mirror - En un espejo
In a car - En un auto
In a taxi - En un taxi
In a helicopter - En un helicptero

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Prepositions of time

At We use at with times ( hours, at midnight, and some meals
such as at suppertime and at lunchtime )

At Usamos at ( a la, las, en la, en etc) con algunos
horarios (horas, la medianoche, y con algunas comidas como a
la hora de la cena o a la hora del almuerzo, )
at three, at four (The train leaves at five o 'clock)

a las tres, a las cuatro (El tren sale a las cinco)
at luchtime (Please be home at lunchtime)
a la hora del almuerzo (Por favor vuelve a casa a la hora del
almuerzo)
at suppertime a la hora de la cena

We also use at with some fixed expressions such as: at sunrise,
at noon, at sunset, at night.

Tambin usamos at con algunas expresiones fijas tales como
al amanecer, al medioda, al anochecer y a la noche.

at night (Bats sleep at night. Batman too)
a la noche (Los murcilagos duermen a la noche) Batman
tambin.
at midnight

a la medianoche
at noon

al medioda
at sunrise (He is going to kill the president at sunrise!) al amanecer (Va a matar al presidente al amanecer)
at sunset al anochecer
at the week-end

en el fin de semana
at the moment (Sorry, the boss is not here at the moment) ahora (Lo lamento, el jefe no se encuentra aqu ahora)
at present en este momento
at Christmas en Navidad
at Easter (I want a chocolate bunny at Easter...)

en Pascua (Quiero un conejo de chocolate para Pascua)
at the age of three, a la edad de tres aos
at the age of fity-two a los cincuenta y dos aos etc
at the same time (We arrive at the station at the same time) al mismo tiempo (Llegamos a la estacin al mismo tiempo)



In We use in for longer periods of time (months,
years, seasons)


In Usamos in para perodos de tiempo largos
(tales como meses, aos y estaciones del ao) ...en
enero, en abril, en septiembre, en octubre, en
noviembre etc.


in January, in February, in March

en enero, en febrero, en marzo etc
in 1979, in 2001 en 1979, en 2001
in summer en verano
in winter en invierno
in autumn

en otoo
in spring en primavera
in the Middle Ages en la edad media
in the 19 th century en el siglo diecinueve
We also use in for parts of the day: be careful if you add the name
of the day...

Tambin usamos in para partes del da: pero ten cuidado si
le agregas el nombre del da
in the morning(s) but on Sunday morning(s) a la maana (por las maanas) singular o plural
in the afternoon(s) but on Monday afternoon(s)

a la tarde (por las tardes)
in the evening (s) but on Tuesday evening(s) a la noche (por las noches)










On we use on mostly for days of the week and
dates.

On Utilizamos on principalmente con los
das de la semana y fechas.
on Monday

el lunes
on Tuesday el martes
on Wednesday morning el mircoles a la noche
on Thursday night

el jueves a la noche
on July 10 th

el 10 de julio
on December 25 th

el 25 de diciembre
We say on Christmas day but at Chritmas



http://www.clafoti.com/imagenes10/time_prep.htm



PREPOSITIONS:
LOCATORS IN
TIME AND PLACE

Select from the following

A preposition describes a relationship between other words in a sentence. In itself, a word like "in" or "after" is rather meaningless and hard to
define in mere words. For instance, when you do try to define a preposition like "in" or "between" or "on," you invariably use your hands to show
how something is situated in relationship to something else. Prepositions are nearly always combined with other words in structures
called prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases can be made up of a million different words, but they tend to be built the same: a preposition
followed by a determiner and an adjective or two, followed by a pronoun or noun (called the object of the preposition). This whole phrase, in turn,
takes on a modifying role, acting as an adjective or an adverb, locating something in time and space, modifying a noun, or telling when or where or
under what conditions something happened.
Consider the professor's desk and all the prepositional phrases we can use while talking about it.
You can sit before the desk (or in front of the desk). The professor can sit on the desk (when he's being informal) or behind the desk, and then
his feet are under the desk orbeneath the desk. He can stand beside the desk (meaning next to the desk), before the desk, between the desk
and you, or even on the desk (if he's really strange). If he's clumsy, he can bump into the desk or try to walk through the desk (and stuff would
fall off the desk). Passing his hands over the desk or resting his elbows upon the desk, he often looks across the desk and speaks of the desk
or concerning the desk as if there were nothing else like the desk. Because he thinks of nothing except the desk, sometimes you
wonder about the desk, what's in the desk, what he paid for the desk, and if he could live without the desk. You can walk toward the desk, to the
desk,around the desk, by the desk, and even past the desk while he sits at the desk or leans against the desk.

All of this happens, of course, in time: during the class, before the class, until the class, throughout the class, after the class, etc. And the
professor can sit there in a bad mood [another adverbial construction].
Those words in bold blue font are all prepositions. Some prepositions do other things besides locate in space or time "My brother is like my
father." "Everyone in the class except me got the answer." but nearly all of them modify in one way or another. It is possible for a preposition
phrase to act as a noun "During a church service is not a good time to discuss picnic plans" or "In the South Pacific is where I long to be" but
this is seldom appropriate in formal or academic writing.
Click HERE for a list of common prepositions that will be easy to print out.
You may have learned that ending a sentence with
a preposition is a serious breach of grammatical
etiquette. It doesn't take a grammarian to spot a
sentence-ending preposition, so this is an easy rule
to get caught up on (!). Although it is often easy to
remedy the offending preposition, sometimes it isn't,
and repair efforts sometimes result in a clumsy
sentence. "Indicate the book you are quoting from" is
not greatly improved with "Indicate from which book
you are quoting."

Based on shaky historical precedent, the rule itself is
a latecomer to the rules of writing. Those who dislike
the rule are fond of recalling Churchill's rejoinder:
"That is nonsense up with which I shall not put." We
should also remember the child's complaint: "What
did you bring that book that I don't like to be read to
out of up for?"
Is it any wonder that prepositions create such troubles for students for whom English is a second language? We say we are at the hospital to visit
a friend who is in the hospital. We lie in bed but on the couch. We watch a film at the theater but on television. For native speakers, these little words
present little difficulty, but try to learn another language, any other language, and you will quickly discover that prepositions are troublesome
wherever you live and learn. This page contains some interesting (sometimes troublesome) prepositions with brief usage notes. To address all the
potential difficulties with prepositions in idiomatic usage would require volumes, and the only way English language learners can begin to master the
intricacies of preposition usage is through practice and paying close attention to speech and the written word. Keeping a good dictionary close at
hand (to hand?) is an important first step.
Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in
We use at to designate specific times.
The train is due at 12:15 p.m.
We use on to designate days and dates.
My brother is coming on Monday.
We're having a party on the Fourth of July.
We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
She likes to jog in the morning.
It's too cold in winter to run outside.
He started the job in 1971.
He's going to quit in August.
Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in
We use at for specific addresses.
Grammar English lives at 55 Boretz Road in Durham.
We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.
Her house is on Boretz Road.
And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
She lives in Durham.
Durham is in Windham County.
Windham County is in Connecticut.
Prepositions of Location: in, at, and on
and No Preposition
IN
(the) bed*
the bedroom
the car
(the) class*
the library*
school*
AT
class*
home
the library*
the office
school*
work
ON
the bed*
the ceiling
the floor
the horse
the plane
the train
NO
PREPOSITION
downstairs
downtown
inside
outside
upstairs
uptown
* You may sometimes use different prepositions for these locations.
Prepositions of Movement: to
and No Preposition
We use to in order to express movement toward a place.
They were driving to work together.
She's going to the dentist's office this morning.
Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant spellings of the same word; use whichever sounds
better to you.
We're moving toward the light.
This is a big step towards the project's completion.
With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition.
Grandma went upstairs
Grandpa went home.
They both went outside.
Prepositions of Time: for and since
We use for when we measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years).
He held his breath for seven minutes.
She's lived there for seven years.
The British and Irish have been quarreling for seven centuries.
We use since with a specific date or time.
He's worked here since 1970.
She's been sitting in the waiting room since two-thirty.
Prepositions with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.
Prepositions are sometimes so firmly wedded to other words that they have practically become one word. (In fact, in other languages, such as
German, they would have become one word.) This occurs in three categories: nouns, adjectives, and verbs.
NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS
approval of
awareness of
belief in
concern for
confusion about
desire for
fondness for
grasp of
hatred of
hope for
interest in
love of
need for
participation in
reason for
respect for
success in
understanding of
ADJECTIVES and
PREPOSITIONS
afraid of
angry at
aware of
capable of
careless
about
familiar with
fond of
happy about
interested in
jealous of
made of
married to
proud of
similar to
sorry for
sure of
tired of
worried
about
VERBS and PREPOSITIONS
apologize for
ask about
ask for
belong to
bring up
care for
find out
give up
grow up
look for
look forward to
look up
make up
pay for
prepare for
study for
talk about
think about
trust in
work for
worry about

A combination of verb and preposition is called a phrasal verb. The word that is joined to the verb is then called a particle. Please refer to the
brief section we have prepared on phrasal verbs for an explanation.
Idiomatic Expressions with Prepositions
agree to a proposal, with a person, on a price, in principle
argue about a matter, with a person, for or against a proposition
compare to to show likenesses, with to show differences (sometimes similarities)
correspond to a thing, with a person
differ from an unlike thing, with a person
live at an address, in a house or city, on a street, with other people
Unnecessary Prepositions
In everyday speech, we fall into some bad habits, using prepositions where they are not necessary. It would be a good idea to eliminate these
words altogether, but we must be especially careful not to use them in formal, academic prose.
She met up with the new coach in the hallway.
The book fell off of the desk.
He threw the book out of the window.
She wouldn't let the cat inside of the house. [or use "in"]
Where did they go to?
Put the lamp in back of the couch. [use "behind" instead]
Where is your college at?
Prepositions in Parallel Form
(Click HERE for a definition and discussion of parallelism.) When two words or phrases are used in parallel and require the same preposition
to be idiomatically correct, the preposition does not have to be used twice.
You can wear that outfit in summer and in winter.
The female was both attracted by and distracted by the male's dance.
However, when the idiomatic use of phrases calls for different prepositions, we must be careful not to omit one of them.
The children were interested in and disgusted by the movie.
It was clear that this player could both contribute to and learn from every game he played.
He was fascinated by and enamored of this beguiling woman.