A2business

Prepositions - Business English

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A preposition is a small word that shows how things relate in time, place or direction: in, on, at, to, for, from, with, by, about. You use them constantly, and the three to get right first are in, on and at. For time: use at for clock times (at 9 a.m., at noon), on for days and dates (on Monday, on 5 June), and in for longer periods (in May, in 2025, in the morning). For place: use at for a point (at the office, at the bus stop), on for a surface or line (on the desk, on the second floor), and in for an enclosed space or area (in the meeting room, in London). A few useful business phrases: "I'll send the report by Friday", "Let's meet on Tuesday at ten", and "She works in finance." A common pitfall is using on with months or years; say in May, in 2025, not "on May". Another is the verb arrive, which takes a fixed preposition: you arrive at a place (at the airport) but arrive in a city or country (in Paris). Prepositions often don't translate word-for-word from your own language, so it helps to learn them inside whole phrases rather than one by one.

Let's practise. Type each answer and press Enter, I'll check it with you.

  1. The meeting is scheduled 10:00 AM tomorrow.
  2. We need to finish this project Friday.
  3. Mr. Smith is responsible the marketing department.
  4. I will send the updated report email.
  5. Our new office is located London.
  6. She is very good managing large teams.
  7. The presentation will take place the conference room.
  8. Are you interested joining our new project?
  9. We discussed the budget the meeting yesterday.
  10. The client arrived the airport at noon.
  11. Please write your name the top of the document.
  12. He works a large multinational company.
  13. The manager is talking the new sales strategy.
  14. Our company was founded 2010.
  15. I am looking forward meeting you next week.
  16. The deadline for the task is the end of the month.
  17. We need to focus our main goals.
  18. The documents are the desk in my office.
  19. She apologized the delay in her response.
  20. They travel to Paris train every year.
  21. The CEO is a business trip this week.
  22. Please wait the reception area.
  23. We have a meeting Monday morning.
  24. He is in charge the financial department.
  25. I will see you the office tomorrow.

Common questions

When do I use in, on or at for time?

Use at for clock times and short moments: at 3 p.m., at lunchtime, at the weekend. Use on for days and dates: on Monday, on 12 March, on my first day. Use in for longer periods: in the morning, in July, in 2025, in winter. So you might write: "The interview is on Thursday at 11 a.m."

What is the difference between in and at for places?

Use in for an enclosed space or a larger area: in the office, in the meeting room, in Berlin. Use at for a specific point or a place you go to for an activity: at the reception desk, at the airport, at work, at a conference. For example: "She's at the office" (the location) versus "She's in her office" (inside the room).

Why are English prepositions so hard to choose?

Because they rarely match your own language word-for-word and many are fixed by the phrase, not by logic. "Depend on", "interested in", "good at" and "arrive at/in" just have to be learned as set combinations. The best approach is to learn each preposition inside a whole phrase or example sentence, then reuse that pattern, rather than translating directly.