A2daily

Prepositions - Daily 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. I wake up 7 o'clock every morning.
  2. My brother is the kitchen making breakfast.
  3. We usually go to the park Saturdays.
  4. The grocery store is the pharmacy.
  5. She puts her keys her bag.
  6. They are traveling to London June.
  7. My cat is sleeping the sofa.
  8. He sits his best friend in class.
  9. The milk is the fridge.
  10. We walk the school to get home.
  11. There is a beautiful painting the wall.
  12. I always listen to music my commute.
  13. The coffee shop is the library and the bank.
  14. They live a small apartment in the city.
  15. Please put the book the table.
  16. We went to the cinema the weekend.
  17. She is waiting the bus stop.
  18. My father works a large office.
  19. The children are playing the garden.
  20. I am looking my lost glasses.
  21. The plane flies the clouds.
  22. He arrived the airport late.
  23. We sit the table for dinner.
  24. The remote is the cushion.
  25. They go to sleep night.

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.