Back to library Prepositions

Prepositions of Time & Place

Master in, on and at for times and places, plus common verb + preposition pairs.

Beginner 2 min read

What is it?

Prepositions are short words that show relationships of time, place and direction. The three most common, and most confusing, are in, on and at.

When to use it

Time: at 7 o’clock, on Monday, in July.
Place: at the bus stop, on the table, in the kitchen.
After certain verbs and adjectives: depend on, listen to, good at, afraid of.

When not to use it

Don’t use a preposition before this, next, last, every, today, tomorrow, yesterday: I’ll see you next Friday, not on next Friday.

How to build it

	Time	Place
at	clock times, night, the weekend: at 6:30, at night	a point: at the door, at work, at home
on	days and dates: on Sunday, on 21 February	a surface: on the wall, on the bus
in	months, years, seasons, parts of the day: in May, in 2025, in the morning	inside an area: in the room, in Dhaka

Examples

The class starts at 9 a.m. on Saturdays.
Monica was born in 2001.
Your keys are on the shelf in the hall.
We arrived in Chattogram late at night.

Common mistakes

I’ll call you in Monday.I’ll call you on Monday.
We arrived to the airport.We arrived at the airport.
It depends of the price.It depends on the price.

Memory tip

Picture a triangle: IN at the wide bottom (big periods: years, months), ON in the middle (days), AT at the sharp point (exact times).

Joe & Monica

Joe: When is your interview?

Monica: It’s on Thursday at ten o’clock, in their office in Gulshan.

Joe: Good luck! Call me after the interview.

Interactive Practice

Pick an answer to check your understanding.

Question 1 of 5

My birthday is ___ 14 April.

Question 2 of 5

We arrived ___ the airport two hours early.

Question 3 of 5

Joe is really good ___ math.

Question 4 of 5

The keys are ___ the table.

Question 5 of 5

The meeting is ___ Monday.

Final Mini Quiz

One last check before you mark the lesson complete.