Prepositions of Place With Examples

General speaking, prepositions are words that link nouns and pronouns to other words within sentences. These groups of words begin with a preposition and usually end with a noun or pronoun. We call these groups of words prepositional phrases. These prepositions usually show a spatial or temporal relationship between the speaker, listener and the situation being referred to.

Prepositions of place are prepositions that indicate the location or position of an object or person in proximity to something else. There are 4 prepositions of place that we will discuss in this article: 1) at, 2) in, 3) on and 4) by.

Prepositions of place can be a little bit tricky sometimes, especially if English is not your first language.

For instance, do we say: The children are playing at the park or the children are playing in the park?

Do we say: The children are at the beach or the children are on the beach?

Do we say: I am in the car or I am at the car?

As you can see, it is important to learn these prepositions of place in the context of the sentence. The context of the sentence will determine which preposition is correct for your situation.

This will become clearer as we journey through this post. So let’s look at these four prepositions, in, on, at, and by in normal conversation.

4 Prepositions of Place

To simplify our understanding of the prepositions of place, it is advantageous to remember these four basic prepositions of place and their definitions.

at – refers to a point or physical location of a person or thing
in – refers to an enclosed space or within the boundaries of a specific place or container
on – refers to a specific surface or resting spot
by – refers to proximity or nearness

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE	SHORT DEFINITIONS	EXAMPLE SENTENCES
AT	Indicates a point or physical location.	The children are at the bus stop.
IN	Indicates an enclosed space or within specific boundaries.	The workmen are in the building.
ON	Indicates a specific surface or resting spot.	The baby is playing on the living room floor.
BY	Indicates proximity or nearness.	David found the watch by the roadside.

1. Prepositions of Place: AT

Definition: The preposition at refers to specific point or location that could be temporal or permanent. To put it another way, at type prepositions are general locations or referent points easily identified.

Examples of At-Type Prepositions

We stayed at home during the School break.
Dad and mum are planning on staying the night at the motel for their trip to the city.
The nurse reported the incident at the front desk of the hospital.
He parked the truck at the end of the road.
I met my wife at university.

2. Prepositions of Place: IN

Definition: The preposition in refers to an enclosed space or within the boundaries of a specific place or area. To put it another way, in type prepositions relate to an area of ground or territory enclosed by boundaries.

Examples of In-Type Prepositions

The children’s toys are in the toy box.
The beautiful flowers are in the garden.
Peter put his wallet in his pocket while shopping at the mall.
Rebekah put the money in the bank.
The children enjoy their ride in the helicopter during the summer break.

3. Prepositions of Place: ON

Definition: The preposition on refers to a flat or horizontal surface or resting spot. To put it another way, on type prepositions indicate a specific surface or resting spot.

Examples of On-Type Prepositions

Jonathan was lying on the bed while he was not feeling well.
I was told to leave the information on the counter at the police station.
The Christmas decorations left marks on the ceiling in the living room.
The clock fell on the floor during the wild storm.
We are allow to ride our bike on the footpath.

4. Prepositions of Place: BY

Definition: The preposition by indicates nearness or at the side of. To put it another way, by type prepositions refer to proximity or nearness.

Examples of By-Type Prepositions

Uncle Harry chose a big chair by the fireplace in order to keep warm.
The library is by the train station.
Our holiday cabin is by the lake in the mountains.
Rachel left her bike by the side of the river while fishing with her friends.
I placed my laptop by the side of the bed so that I could watch a movie before bedtime.

5. More Prepositions of Place

AT-TYPE PREPOSITIONS	IN-TYPE PREPOSITIONS	ON-TYPE PREPOSITIONS	BY-TYPE PREPOSITIONS
TO	INTO	ONTO	NEAR, CLOSE TO
FROM	OUT OF	OFF	BEHIND, BETWEEN, IN FRONT OF
AWAY FROM	THROUGH	ACROSS, OVER	NEXT TO, BESIDE
		ALONG	ABOVE/OVER, BELOW/UNDER

Examples of More Prepositions of Place

We went to America for our holidays. (At-Type)
We stayed away from England during the plague. (At-Type)
The prisoners were smuggled out of the country. (In-Type)
We went for a walk through the park. (In-Type)
We turned off Greenville Avenue onto Maple Drive. (On-Type)
The power was off in houses along Smith Street. (On-Type)
We put the table in front of the window. (By-Type)
The shed is close to the boundary fence. (By-Type)

6. Overlap Between Types of Prepositions of Place

As I said before, do we say: The children are at the beach or the children are on the beach?

I will answer that question by explaining the following examples.

For further research, you can check out at AMAZON BOOKS, A Communicative Grammar of English, 3rd Edition by Geoffery Leech and Jan Svartvik, pp. 116ff.

Examples of Prepositions of Place That Overlap

Example #1

The children are at the beach. (general location)
The children are on the beach. (specific surface)

Both are right. However, it is the context that determines the usage of the prepositions of place. In the first sentence, the speaker is giving a general location. In the second sentence, the speaker is giving a specific surface.

Example #2

We stopped to refuel at New York on our way to Tokyo. (general location)
We stopped to refuel in New York as we explored the local tourist destinations. (enclosed boundaries)

Again, both are right. When we used “New York” in the context of worldwide travel, we use the preposition “AT.” When we use “New York” as a local place or area, we use the proposition “IN.”

In the first sentence, the speaker is referring to a location. In the second sentence, the speaker is referring to a local area with boundaries.

Example #3

The children played on the grass. (surface)
The children played in the grass. (area or volume)

Again, both are right. In the first sentence, the speaker is referring to the surface. They were playing on the grass (assuming short grass). In the second sentence, the speaker is referring to the volume or the area (assuming long grass).

So it is important to learn prepositions of place by referring to the context in which you want to explain your information. In other words, the context is determined by the relationship between the noun (children) and the prepositional phrase (on the grass or in the grass).

For more information on prepositions, click this link – 8 Tips of Prepositions With Examples!