Page 258 - English Grammar in Use

Unit
123 in/at/on (position) 1

A in
in a room in a garden in a pool
in a building in a town in the sea
in a box in the city centre in a river
etc. etc. etc.

There’s no-one in the room / in the building / in the garden.
What do you have in your hand / in your mouth?
When we were in Italy, we spent a few days in Venice.
I have a friend who lives in a small village in the mountains.
There were some people swimming in the pool / in the sea / in the river.

B at

at the bus stop at the door at the roundabout at her desk

Who is that man standing at the bus stop / at the door / at the window?
Turn left at the traffic lights / at the next junction / at the roundabout / at the church.

We have to get off the bus at the next stop.

When you leave the hotel, please leave your key at reception. (= at the reception desk)
Compare in and at:
There were a lot of people in the shop. It was crowded.

Go along this road, then turn left at the shop.
I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby. (= in the building)
I’ll meet you at the entrance to the hotel. (= outside the building)

C on
on the on the door on the ceiling on her nose
wall X X
X

X on the floor
X
on a page on an island
on the table
I sat on the floor / on the ground / on the grass / on the beach / on a chair.
There’s a dirty mark on the ceiling / on your nose / on your shirt.
Did you see the notice on the wall / on the door?
You’ll find details of TV programmes on page seven of the newspaper.
The hotel is on a small island in the middle of a lake. in the
bottle
Compare in and on:
There is some water in the bottle.
There is a label on the bottle. on the bottle

Compare at and on:
There is somebody at the door. Shall I go and see who it is?
There is a notice on the door. It says ‘Do not disturb’.

246 in/at/on (position) 2–3 ➜ Units 124–125