How to distinguish the usage of in, on and at in place

On, at and in three commonly used prepositions can all indicate time and place, but their specific usages are different, which puzzles most students. Now as long as you remember the formula, you can avoid all kinds of misuse of at, on and in.

1.on, in, at indicates time.

On "a specific day"

"When", gerund, arrival, before death;

Used to refer to "up", "down" and "late";

To the sky, to the moon, to the season, to the year ③;

Limited to three exchanges. ④

At is a point in time,

Work, time and Christmas.

At noon (at night), during the day,

Remember idioms.

Note: ①on means the morning, afternoon and evening of a specific day.

On mother's day, we should have missed flowers to our mother. On Mother's Day, we should send flowers to our mother.

When I got home, I found him gone .. When I got home, I found him gone.

(2) When using early and late to modify the prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence, in should be used, although it means the morning, afternoon and evening of a specific day, generally referring to the general morning, afternoon and evening.

In the early morning of National Day, I got up to catch the first bus to the zoo. In the early morning of National Day, I got up and went to the zoo to catch the first bus.

My father started working at 8 am and stopped working at 4 pm. My father goes to work at eight in the morning and gets off work at four in the afternoon.

In the future tense, it means "after a period of time" and "during ..."

I heard that he will be back in a month .. I heard that he will be back in a month.

In the last French class, little Franz listened to the teacher very attentively. In the last French class, little Franz listened to the teacher very attentively.

Xiaoming was born in 20041February. Xiaoming was born in June 2004.

(4) Use prepositions or postattributives to define morning, afternoon and evening, and use on instead of in.

On a hot (summer) noon

Monday morning Monday morning

On the morning of March 8, on the morning of March 8.

⑤ means at a certain time, before work and Christmas.

We get up at eight .. We get up at eight.

My father is busy with work all day. My father is busy with work all day.

In western countries, children get presents from their parents at Christmas. In western countries, children get presents from their fathers at Christmas.

2. In, in and in indicate the position.

On the "upper" contact surface, "nearby, boundary, left side and right side" ①;

In "inner" and "middle" ②;

At stands for small place, "entrance, station, cinema" ③;

Home has attributes and a crown, and at must be replaced by in;

If "at night, traffic" is limited, and "on the road" is in the fifth place.

Note: ① When indicating the position, it means "above (in contact with the surface)", and "near, adjacent to" and "left and right" are all on.

There is an English-Chinese dictionary and two grammar books on the big desk. There is an English-Chinese dictionary and two grammar books on that big desk.

North Korea is located in the northeast of China. North Korea is located in the northeast of China.

Tom sat on my left when we went to the movies yesterday. Tom sat on my left when we went to the movies yesterday.

(2) means "inside" (that is, inside the object), and "middle" (that is, before the middle) is all there.

Jim turned the key in the lock and opened the door. Jim inserted the key into the lock hole, turned the key and opened the door.

Soon they were in the middle of the river. Soon they swam to the middle of the river.

③ at stands for smaller places, such as entrance, bus stop, railway station and cinema.

As she walked, she noticed an old pine tree at the entrance to the valley ahead. When she walked forward, she noticed an old pine tree at the mouth of the canyon ahead.

At is usually used before ④home, but if there are possessive pronouns, articles and other attributives, you must use in.

In Princeton, he lived a quiet life, worked in a research institute and entertained himself by playing the violin in his simple home. He lived a quiet life in Princeton, worked in a research institute and played the piano in his simple home.

⑤ If nouns such as "night" and "bus, bicycle, train, etc." have qualifiers and "on the road", the preposition is on.

He was at home that night. He was at home that night.

My son often goes to school by bike. My son often goes to school by bike.

On the way home, my father told me an incident that happened on his first day in Mr. Croset's class. On the way home, my father told me something that happened on his first day in Mr. Croft's class.