At, on and in for place

Ask whether you see the place as a point, a surface or line, or a space.

Preposition	Used for	Examples
at	A point, or an address with a number	at the gate, at the traffic lights, at 14 Mall Road
at	Events and places where an activity happens	at a wedding, at the cinema, at home, at work, at university
on	Surfaces, floors and pages	on the desk, on the third floor, on page 12
on	Lines such as coasts, rivers and borders	a town on the coast, a city on the Indus, on the border
on	Public transport and sides	on the bus, on the train, on the left
in	Enclosed spaces and containers	in the room, in the drawer, in a car, in a taxi
in	Towns, countries and areas	in Kathmandu, in Sri Lanka, in the city centre
in	Pictures, rows and lines of people	in the photo, in the front row, in a queue

Position words that learners confuse

Each pair below looks similar but has a different meaning.

Pair	The difference	Example
above or over	Above is simply higher; over can also mean covering or moving across	The fan is above the bed. She put a blanket over the baby.
below or under	Below is simply lower; under often means directly beneath or covered	The flat below ours is empty. The cat is under the table.
between or among	Between for clearly separate things; among for a group	between the bank and the shop; among the trees
in front of or opposite	In front of is on the same side; opposite is facing, across a space	The car is in front of the house. The park is opposite the school.
beside or besides	Beside means next to; besides means in addition to	Sit beside me. Besides English, she speaks Arabic.
near or next to	Near is a short distance away; next to is directly at the side	We live near the airport. The bank is next to the pharmacy.

Movement or position: into, onto, to, arrive

Use in and on for position and into and onto for movement: "The keys are in the bag." "He put the keys into the bag." With put, in is also common: "Put it in the drawer."

Use to for movement towards a place: "go to school", "walk to the station". Use at or in for where you are when you get there.

Arrive in a city or country and arrive at a building or point: "We arrived in Colombo." "We arrived at the hotel." Never "arrive to". Reach takes no preposition: "We reached the station."

Map language for IELTS Task 1

Map questions test position words. Note the difference between in the north of (inside the area) and to the north of (outside it).

Phrase	Example
in the north of	The factory is in the north of the town.
to the north of	A new road was built to the north of the village.
on the east side of	The car park is on the east side of the hospital.
next to, adjacent to	The café is adjacent to the library.
opposite	The bus station was built opposite the market.
across the river from	The housing estate is across the river from the park.
along	Shops were built along the main road.
at the end of	The school is at the end of Station Road.

Common mistakes

Wrong: We reached to the airport late.
Right: We reached the airport late.
Reach takes a direct object, with no preposition.
Wrong: She arrived to Mumbai on Friday.
Right: She arrived in Mumbai on Friday.
Use arrive in for cities and countries, and arrive at for buildings.
Wrong: The bank is opposite to the post office.
Right: The bank is opposite the post office.
As a preposition of place, opposite needs no to.
Wrong: My cousin lives at Canada.
Right: My cousin lives in Canada.
Countries and cities take in.
Wrong: He was sitting in the train when I called.
Right: He was sitting on the train when I called.
With trains, buses and planes as transport, English uses on.

Using this in IELTS and PTE

IELTS Writing Task 1 map questions depend on position phrases: "to the west of the river", "next to the car park", "opposite the station". IELTS Listening map and plan labelling uses the same words in speech, so learn how they sound as well as how they are spelled. In Speaking Part 2, when you describe a place, phrases such as "on the outskirts of" and "in the heart of" make your answer more precise.

5 questions

Exercise

Try each one, then open it to check your answer.

1. Complete this: "There's a mistake ___ page 7."
on
Pages take on.
2. Arrive in or at? "We arrived ___ the stadium early."
at
A stadium is a building or point, so use at.
3. Between or among? "The house was hidden ___ the trees."
among
Trees here are a group, not two separate things.
4. In or into? "She jumped ___ the pool."
into
It is movement from outside to inside. In the pool would describe where she is.
5. In the north of or to the north of? "The airport is ___ the city, about 20 km away."
to the north of
The airport is outside the city.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between in and into?+

In shows position: "The cat is in the box." Into shows movement from outside to inside: "The cat jumped into the box."

Can I use between for more than two things?+

Yes, when the things are clearly separate: "Nepal lies between India and China", "a trade deal between India, Nepal and Bhutan". Use among for a group seen as a mass: "among the crowd".

In the street or on the street?+

British English often says in the street ("children playing in the street") and American English often says on the street. For an address, say "on Park Road" or "in Park Road" (both used in Britain), and "at 12 Park Road" with a number.

In the north of or to the north of?+

In the north of means inside the area: "Lahore is in the north-east of Pakistan." To the north of means outside it, beyond its northern edge.

Keep going

More grammar lessons

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