Prepositions showing time and place

The most frequently used prepositions in English are at, by, for, from, in, of, on, to, and with. Prepositions can be difficult to master because the differences among them are subtle and idiomatic. See the chart for the correct uses of three prepositions that show time and place: at, on, and in.

Not every possible use is listed in the chart, so don’t be surprised when you encounter exceptions and idiomatic uses that you must learn one at a time. For example, in English we ride in a car but on a bus, plane, train, or subway.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: My first class starts on 8:00 a.m. Revised sentence: My first class starts at 8:00 a.m. Explanation: The preposition “on” has been replaced by the preposition “at” before 8:00 a.m.

At, on, and in to show time and place

Exercises:

Prepositions showing time and place 1

Prepositions showing time and place 2

Related topics:

Prepositions

Prepositional phrases