Even if you know where to use a preposition, it can be difficult to determine which preposition to use. Each of the most common prepositions has a wide range of applications, and this range never coincides exactly from one language to another. See, for example, how in and on are used in English.

The peaches are in the refrigerator.

The peaches are on the table.

Is that a diamond ring on your finger?

The Spanish translations of these sentences all use the same preposition (en), a fact that might lead you astray in English.

There is no easy solution to the challenge of using English prepositions idiomatically, but the strategies in the box on p. 618 can help.