Prepositions of Place

Prepositions of place are used to show the position or location of one thing with another. We usually use prepositions of place when we answer the question beginning with "Where?".

Where do you live? - I live in New York

There are three main prepositions of place:

at -- denotes specific point or location of something.

There's someone standing at the door (specific location)
There weren't many people at the theatre. It's Monday after all (specific location)
Alex lives at number 25 Emerald Street (address)
Ashley works at Apple (company or workplace)

in -- implies that something is located in an enclosed space or within a larger area.

I think I left my phone in the living-room (the living-room is part of your house)
Jake lives in the U.S. He lives in Texas (country, state etc.)

on -- implies that something is located on the surface.

Could you grab my phone? It's on the coffee table in the living-room (the surface of furniture.)
Jake's sister is on the west coast. She absolutely loves the Pacific!_ (position along a road, river or by the sea, lake etc.)
Alex lives on the 3rd floor (the floor in the building)
Sorry, I'll call you back. I'm on the train now (public transport)
My grandparents work on a farm (open fields = the surface of the earth)

Sometimes you can use both at and in when you talk about the location, although there is a slight difference in meaning. Study the following examples:

My siblings are at the mall now (You are stating the location in general. Your sibilngs could be inside the mall, somewhere at the entrance, or at the parking lot.)
My siblings are in the mall now (You are specifying that your siblings are inside the mall building.)

Guided Practice#

Where do you live? - I live .................... Paris. But right now, I'm living .................... Madrid for a couple of weeks.

As you know, my sister Mary works .................... Apple. She really likes it there as she doesn't work .................... a tiny cubicle but .................... an open space office instead. Mary says it boosts her creativity.

I can't believe there is so much storage space .................... the closet. And look at these cute pillows .................... the bed. And there are even flowers .................... the vase .................... the windowsill. This room is just lovely!

Short Story using Prepositions of Place#

-Ann, hurry up! The Smiths are waiting for us at the restaurant!

-I know, I know! I can't find my shoes.

-Have you tried looking for them in the closet?

-Not funny, Nick. I think I might have left them in the living-room when I was taking pictures of my new shoes.

-There are some shoes on the bed. Aren't these yours?

-Oh, that's right! And now I need to find my phone - and I'm ready to go!

-It's right there on your bedside table.

-Oh, thanks! Love you!

Independent Practice#

Fill in the gaps with at, in, on.

My cat likes sleeping .................... my bed when I'm .................... work.
Peter's relatives live .................... the east coast so he doesn't visit them that often.
Our kids love swimming .................... the lake nearby.
I am currently living .................... Germany and doing my internship here.
Were you .................... the party too? I haven't seen you!
Do you live with your parents or .................... your own place?
Kyle was .................... the dentist's today. He needs some hugs in the evening.
Meredith grew up .................... a farm .................... Idaho.
I left my headphones .................... home. It's going to be a boring ride .................... the bus!
There are so many tasty things .................... the menu!