Place prepositions

To talk about place, we use the following prepositions.

In

In is used to talk about position inside large areas and in three-dimensional space.

• He is in his room.
• She grew up in a large town.
• We went for a walk in the woods.
• Put the money in the box.

On

Use on to talk about position on a line or a surface.

• There is a spider on the wall.
• Stratford is on the river Avon.
• He put the books on the table.

On can mean ‘attached to’.

• There are quite a few mangoes on the tree.

At

Use at to talk about position at a point.

• The old man sat at the corner.

At is sometimes used with a larger place, if we think of it as a stage on a journey or a meeting place.

• She got off when the train stopped at the next station.
• I met her at a club.

Note that in is also possible in these cases.

Higher than a point

To indicate position higher than a point, we use the prepositions over and above. Usually they are both possible in most cases. However, in some cases there are subtle differences between the two.

• He jumped over the wall.
• Hang that photo above the sofa.

Lower than a point

To talk about position lower than a point, we use under, underneath, beneath and below.

• This part of the city is below sea-level.
• We rested in the shade beneath the branches.
• The whole village was under water.