When to use on in into with. Prepositions in English

All prepositions of the English language. Online pronunciation and the use of the preposition in English.

- [ɪn] -
in, on, by

listen online

The preposition in is used to indicate:

1 Places with meaning in (answers the question where?)

He was born in Samara. - He was born in Samara.
Your toys are in the box. - Your toys are in a box.
But: before the names of small towns, villages, etc. The preposition at is used.

2 times:

a with the value in (before the month or year):

He was born in October. - He was born in October.
The project will be over in 2015. - The project will end in 2015.

b with the value through:

My mom will be back in a week. - My mother will be back in a week.
The program will be ready in a month. - The program will be ready in a month.

c) with the meaning in, for, during, indicating the period during which the action is performed:

He wrote the essay in an hour. He wrote the essay in an hour. This building was built in 11 months. This building was built in 11 months (within 11 months).

In can also be an adverb that is used in combination with verbs of movement and expresses the direction of action into something. In this case, in often corresponds to the verb prefix в- in Russian:

to come in - to enter
to run in - run in
to drive in - drive in
to fly in - fly in, etc.

I could not get in because the door was locked. - I couldn't get in because the door was closed.
She ran in with flowers in her hand. - She ran in with flowers in her hand.

Expressions with the preposition in:

in a little while - soon
in addition - in addition, in addition, in addition, in addition
in advance - before, in advance
in the afternoon (morning, evening) - during the day (morning, evening)
in bulk - in bulk, in bulk
in any case - anyway
in the circumstances - under the circumstances
in order (disorder) - in order (disorder)
in part - partially
in a calm (loud) voice - in a calm (loud) voice
in conclusion - in conclusion
in the country - outside the city, in the village
in the direction (of) - in direction (toward)
in demand - in demand
in due course - in a timely manner
in English - in English
in full - completely
in full - swing in full swing
in general - in general
in somebody's interest(s) - in someone's interests
in the long run - in the end
in the market - on the market
in the meantime - meanwhile
in the negative - negative
in the affirmative - affirmative
in the open air - outdoors
in one's opinion - according to smb.
in (at) one"s option - by smb.'s choice
in pencil (ink) - pencil (ink)
in question - in question
in return - in return
in sight - in the field of view
in so far as - since
in the summer - in the summer
in stock - in stock
in store - in stock, in reserve
in the street - on the street
in the sun - in the sun
in time - on time
in terms of something - in relation to something
in vain - in vain, in vain
in the west - in the west

Verbs, adjectives and participles used with the preposition in:

to arrive in - come, arrive in (country, big city)
She arrived in Toronto yesterday.
- She arrived in Toronto yesterday.
to deal in - to conduct business with someone.
This firm deals in oak furniture.
- This company sells furniture made of oak.
to end in - to end, to end with smth.
I have heard that many travels by plain end in disaster.
- I heard that many plane trips end in disaster.
to be engaged in - do something
Have you ever been engaged in cookie selling?
-Have you ever sold cookies?
to include in - include in
You better include all club members in your invitation list.
- You better include (better include) all club members on your invitation list.
to result in - have the result of something., lead to
All my efforts didn't result in anything.
- All my efforts came to nothing.
to succeed in - to succeed, to achieve a goal, to succeed, to have success
She really succeeded in restaurant business.
“She really succeeded in the restaurant business.”
to take part (to participate) in- participate in
I usually take part in all university activities.
- I usually take part in all university events.
dressed in - dressed in
Everybody was dressed in formal business suites except me!
- Everyone was dressed in formal business suits except me!
rich in - rich in something
The red soil is rich in iron.
- The red soil is rich in iron.
to be in the habit (of) - have a habit, habit
She is in the habit of going to bed very late.
- She tends to go to bed very late.
to be in love (with) - to be in love (in)
When I was sixteen I was in love with our literature teacher.
- When I was sixteen years old, I fell in love with our literature teacher.
to be in need (of) - need (in)
People in the disaster area are in need of fresh water.
- People in the disaster area need fresh water.
to be interested in - to be interested in smth.
She interested in theater life.
- She is interested in theatrical life.
to be in - to be in, to be at home
Is Ms. Smith in?
- Is Mrs. Smith at home?

Comparison of prepositions in and at:

The preposition in is used to indicate a period of time

in May - in May
in 2018 - in 2018

The preposition at to indicate a point in time

at five o"clock - at five o'clock
at noon - at noon
at midnight - at midnight

When denoting a place (answering the question where?), the preposition in is used with the names of countries and large cities

in the England - in England
in London - in London

Preposition at - with names of small towns

at Abramtsevo - in Abramtsevo
at Krjukovo - in Kryukovo

In the same way, at and in are placed after the verb to arrive:

He arrived in Moscow - He came to Moscow
He arrived at Abramtsevo. - He arrived in Abramtsevo.

We need prepositions of place to talk about the position or location of someone/something. We use them very often in our speech. For example:

“The book is on the table. Children at school. Bag in the car. We're in the park."

In English, difficulties in using are caused by the prepositions in, at, on, which are very often confused and used incorrectly.

However, it is very important to learn the correct use of these prepositions, since the meaning of the sentence will change depending on which preposition you choose.

In this article I will tell you how not to get confused by them.

From the article you will learn:

Prepositions of place in English

Prepositions of place indicate the position and presence of an object/person in space.

There are the following prepositions of place in English:

above- higher;
below- below;
before- in front, at;
behind- behind, behind;
under- under (something);
over- on top;
between- between;
among- among;
near, by, beside- near, near, at;
outside- outside, behind;
in front of- before;
opposite- against;
at- V;
in- V;
on- on;

Let's look at a visual representation of the use of basic prepositions of place.

Today we will look in detail at the prepositions on, in and at.

Using the preposition of place on in English

Preposition on

Translation: on.

Transcription:[ɒn] / [he].

Pretext on most often we use it when we say that something is on the surface. For example: “The cup is on the table.”

Examples

However, the preposition on has several other uses.

We use on when we say:

1. About the situation on the road, river, seashore, lakeshore.

For example

They lived on the coast of a river.
They lived on the banks of the river.

St.Petersburg lies on the Neva.
St. Petersburg is located on the Neva.

2. About the floor in the building.

For example

We live on the 8th floor.
WE live on the 8th floor.

They work on the 15th floor.
They work on the 15th floor.

3. About the fact that we are physically in public transport(bus, metro, train, plane).

For example

She was on the bus, when he called.
She was on the bus when he called.

I like to read books on the metro.
I like to read books on the subway.

Using the preposition in in English

Preposition in

Translation: V.

Transcription:[ɪn] / [in].

Pretext in we use when we say that a person/thing is inside something. What is meant here is specific place or building. For example: “I hid from the rain in the store.”

Examples

We put the books in a box.
We put the books in a box (the books are inside the box).

He is waiting for me in a car.
He is waiting for me in the car (he is inside the car).

We also use in in the following cases:

1. With the names of the cardinal directions (north, south, west, east).

For example

Penguins live in the north.
Penguins live in the north.

The city lies in the west.
The city is located in the west.

2. With cities, countries.

For example

We live in Moscow.
We live in Moscow.

She would like to live in New-York.
She would like to live in New York.

Using the preposition at in English

Preposition at

Translation: V.

Transcription:[æt] / [et].

Pretext at we use when we are somewhere with a specific purpose. For example: “He invited me to the cinema.” From this example it is clear that he invited not just to stand in the cinema building, but for a specific purpose - to watch a film.

For example

They are at the hospital.
They are in a hospital (being in a hospital to get better, not just standing in a building).

We are eating at a restaurant.
We eat in a restaurant (we are in a restaurant to eat, and not just stand in it).

The preposition at is also used when something/someone is located:

1. At a specific point, point (at a bus stop, on a corner, at an intersection).

For example

He is sitting at the bus stop.
He is sitting at the bus stop.

They waited for me at a corner.
They were waiting for me on the corner.

2. At an event, some event.

For example

We are at a concert
We're at a concert.

They met at a conference.
They met at a conference.

3. In close proximity, at.

For example

Her dog is sitting at the door.
Her dog is sitting by the door.

She is standing at a window.
She was standing by the window.

What is the difference between in and at?

Let's look again at the difference between these prepositions.

In we use when we are inside something.

They are in school.
They are at school.

The sentence says that they are in the school building. They are not somewhere on the site or on an excursion, they are inside this building.

At we use when we are somewhere for a specific purpose.

They are at school.
They are at school.

In this sentence we mean that they are at school, they went there for the purpose of learning, they may now be in the school itself, in the playground next to the school, or even going on a school trip to a museum.

General table of use of prepositions on, in, at

Let's look again at the use of these prepositions.

On	In	At
Someone/something is on the surface on the table on the table on The floor on the floor	We are inside something (meaning the building itself) in the room in the room (inside the room) in the shop in the store (inside the store)	We are somewhere with a specific purpose at work at work (came to work) at the cinema to the cinema (the goal is to watch a movie)
We talk about the situation on the road, river, seashore, lakeshore. on the coast on the shore on the river on the river	Use with names of cardinal directions (north, south, west, east)in the north in the north in the south in the south	We are at a specific point, point (at a bus stop, on a corner, at an intersection) at the corner on the corner at the bus stop at the bus stop
We are on floor in the building on the 9th floor on the 9th floor on the 11th floor on the 11th floor	Use with cities and countries in Moscow in Moscow in London in London	We are at an event, event at a concert at a concert at a conference at the conference
We say that we are physically in public transport at a certain moment on the bus on the bus on the train on the train		We are in close proximity to something at a door at the door at a window by the window

So, we've covered the theory, and now let's move on to practice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. She sleeps in the room.
2. They are in the theater.
3. Things are in the suitcase.
4. Apples on the table.
5. We are standing at a crossroads.
6. He lives in London.

As you probably already understood, the English language differs significantly from Russian in that it very, very often uses prepositions in English to connect words in a sentence. This often confuses Russian-speaking students, because English prepositions in English do not always correspond to their counterparts in Russian.

In order to get rid of any misunderstandings in this regard once and for all, you need to understand a few simple rules.

Prepositions of Place

The greatest confusion with prepositions of place occurs precisely in relation to prepositions at, in And on. Compare:

in= in (inside, i.e. closer in meaning to inside),
on= on (literally on something),
at= in, on (when we are not talking about a literal location inside or on something).

For example:

I study at school. - I study at school.

In this sentence it means about, in, next to the school, or even just on the school grounds. Those. the point is not that I study exclusively in the school building (within the school), but this is a more abstract concept.
Here's another example:

The point here is not that the person will physically stand on the corner itself, but that he will be next to the corner of a building, road, or the like. Those. again a more abstract concept.
So, in all these cases, when the speech is NOT literally “in or on something”, the preposition is used at.
At the same time, you can say “I"ll meet you on the corner,” but in this case, this will mean that you are standing directly on the corner itself.

Prepositions of time

Prepositions of place may be quite difficult to understand and master. But in prepositions of time you should not make mistakes, since there is a simple rule on how to remember when and how to use each preposition.

Remember:

There are three main prepositions for determining time (prepositions of time).

At- if you are talking about a period of time less than a day
(time< 24 hours.)
For example:

At 8 o'clock, at midnight at night, at noon at daytime, at 5.30 pm at Christmas (since Christmas is the moment at 12 at night - less than a day), etc.

Exceptions: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening

On- if you are talking about a period of time less than a week, but more than a day.
(24 hours< time < week.)
For example:

On Monday on April day, on Halloween, on 21 May - since all these words indicate one day, that is, a period of less than a week.

Exceptions: at weekend, at the weekend.

In- if you are talking about a period of time longer than a week. This includes indications of the month, season, year, century, etc.
(week< time)
For example:

In April, in lifetime, in XX century, etc.

If you have several time periods in your sentence, for example, “At 8 am, May 15, 2006,” then you need to put the preposition that refers to the smaller period. Compare:

At 8 am, May 15, 2006
On May 15, 2006
In 2006, XXI century.

Regarding time, sometimes you still need to indicate that something will happen after a certain period of time. In this case, you need to use the preposition in.

For example:

In 5 hours/5 days/5 years etc - in 5 hours/5 days/5 years, etc.

Due to the fact that this does not at all correspond to the similar construction of similar phrases in Russian, many students make mistakes here. So try to remember this rule when we use at, in and on and not translate such phrases literally.

Prepositional phrases

In English, prepositions are often predetermined by the verb you use. These are the so-called Prepositional phrases. It is advisable to teach them right away with the pretext with which it should be used, this will save you from mistakes and difficulties in the future. For example, expressions such as look at, stare at, at a good price, at our convenience should always be used with a preposition at.

Regarding the preposition in in English, it is always used in the following phrases: succeed in, result in, interested in, in general, in time, in advance.

Expressions with the preposition are also used very often on. Here are some of them: insist on, depend on, congratulate on, spend time/money on.

Of course, if you make the mistake of using the wrong preposition, in most cases you will still be able to be understood correctly by native speakers, but naturally, gaps in your knowledge will immediately become apparent. Don’t despair, because the EnglishDom online school team is doing everything possible so that during English lessons via Skype you can eliminate all the “irregularities” in your speech.

For correct use Prepositions in English require some skill and, of course, practice. Therefore, many students, even with very high level language skills sometimes make mistakes here. But, there is no limit to perfection, and, knowing at least these basic rules, you can have no doubt in choosing the right preposition, at least in most cases.

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

In this note we focus on the use and difference between the prepositions “in” and “into”.

So, for English language learners there is no difference, but for native speakers it still exists.

Examples of in and into:

Answers n hosts to the question “What are the differences between in and into?”

John, Boston, USA. Examples: ‘I went in the house’ or ‘I went into the house’. The difference between “in” and “into” is that the second sentence emphasizes that you have “entered.”

Daze, England. For example: ‘I am in the library. The cheese is in the refrigerator. There is a mouse in my house. Or ‘I am walking into the library. He put the cheese into the refrigerator. I saw the mouse creeping into my house’. The difference between “in” and “into” - the second example indicates the moment or intention of a person or animal to do something (enter, put down, crawl).

Linda, Minneapolis, MinnesotaUSA. Examples: ‘He walked into the building. I went into the library. The mouse ran into the hole.’ We use “into” to emphasize the direction of a person getting (entering, penetrating, running) from the inside - inside.

René, London. Examples: The difference between “in” and “into” is that we use “in” when we want to emphasize an action ‘She puts the wine into the fridge’, and “into” when, when we emphasize the place ‘She puts the wine in the fridge’.

Often "in" and "into" are part of phrasal verbs.

Examples of using in and into:

1. Be in – into. ‘I am in’. I'm home. ‘I ‘m really into that TV show.” = I’m very interested in that TV show’. I really like this show.

2. Get in – into. 'Get in'. Come in. ‘She got into this dress’. She put on this dress.

3. Run into. He ran in keyhole. He looked through the keyhole. ‘I ran into Joe today. =I unexpectedly met Joe today’. I met Joe today.

Other notes

English is in great demand nowadays. It is studied not only in educational institutions. Many people strive to speak this language. Some study on their own, others take courses. Although English is much easier than Russian, it also has a number of rules and features. It's not enough to just know the words. You need to be able to use them in speech. This article is about prepositions. They are the ones that serve to connect words. The most common prepositions are to, in, at, on. We will consider the rules and features of use below.

First, let's figure out what prepositions are. What are they? What are they used for? A preposition is an auxiliary part of speech that expresses the syntactic dependence of one independent part of speech on another within a phrase and sentence. They cannot be used separately, on their own, or be an independent member of a sentence.

These function words, in turn, are divided by meaning. There are English prepositions of place - at, in, on (the rules are given below). They can also indicate time (at, on, etc.), direction (to, across, etc.), reason (because of, thanks to, etc.), etc. Prepositions in English can be simple (on , at, in, etc.), compound, differently, group (as a result, because of, etc.) and complex (onto, into).

Features of the use of the preposition in

Without auxiliary parts of speech it is impossible to compose a complete sentence. Let's start with at, in, on. The grammar indicates that this is one of the most common meanings. Let's take a closer look at the preposition in.

The first function is location. This preposition must be translated as “in”. It denotes the location of an object inside something (room, city, object, street, building, etc.). Let's give examples.

Last summer I was in the country. - Last summer I was in the village.

There are lots of toys in the box. - There are a lot of toys in the box.

Robert lives in the Great Britain. - Robert lives in the UK.

Rarely do prepositions have only one meaning. It is usually determined by the position of the preposition in the text and translated depending on the context. In addition to the meaning of place, in performs the function of time. In this case, in is translated as “in”, “through” or other Russian equivalent. This can be seen in the following examples.

Mike was born in December. - Mike was born in December.

I will finish my work in fifteen minutes. - I'll finish my work in fifteen minutes.

Children like to play snowballs and make a snowman in winter. - Children love to play snowballs and make a snowman in winter.

Try to give your own examples. To consolidate, do the exercise. Translate into English.

My husband was born in Spain. There are many in our garden different trees and flowers. Lucy and her friends are now walking in the yard. In the evening I like to sit at home and read an interesting book. I'll be free in five minutes.

Peculiarities of using the preposition on

The meaning of place is in, at, on. The rule says that on is used when talking about the location of an object on any plane or surface. It is required to translate into Russian as “to”. Let's take a closer look at examples.

There are lots of books on the shelf. - There are a lot of books on the shelf.

There is a cup of coffee on the table. - There is a cup of coffee on the table.

On is also used when talking about transport (except for a car) or means of communication.

She will come home on 7 o'clock train. - She will come home on the seven o'clock train.

He asked me a question on the phone. - He asked me a question on the phone.

The second meaning is time. On is used with dates and days.

We will go to the country on Saturday. - We will go to the village on Saturday.

Give your own example sentences. And also do the exercise. It is required to translate the sentences into English.

Let's meet at the bus stop. The dog lies on the grass. Our apartment is located on the sixth floor. Put the book on the table, please. Hangs on the wall very beautiful picture.

Peculiarities of using the preposition at

The English language is characterized by the frequent use of the prepositions in, at, on. The rule that governs the use of the preposition at in sentences is as follows. This service part speech should be used when the object is located in close proximity to the second. For example, at the door (at the door). As can be seen from the phrase, at must be translated with the Russian preposition “u”. Translation using “about”, “on” is also acceptable.

Can you meet me at the entrance to the theater? -Can you meet me at the entrance to the theater?

I will be waiting for you at the bridge. - I'll wait for you near the bridge.

However, most often this preposition is used as part of set expressions. Here is a list of some of them.

At home - at home.

At work - at work.

At hospital - in the hospital.

At school - at school.

At a museum - in a museum.

At a hotel - in a hotel.

At a mall - in a shopping center.

At the restaurant - in the restaurant.

Try to make sentences with these constructions.

The second meaning of the preposition at is time. Namely, use with hours and minutes.

She gets up at seven o'clock. - She wakes up at seven o'clock in the morning.

He goes to bed at ten o’clock. - He goes to bed at ten o'clock in the evening.

Do the following exercise to reinforce the material. Translate the sentences into English.

I want to stay at home today. My sister is in the hospital. He's not at home, he's at work now. Our class went on an excursion to the museum yesterday. I'll be waiting for you at the entrance to the cinema. Let's meet at shopping center. He left the bike near the entrance to the store.

Features of the use of the preposition to

This official speech has the meaning of direction. To make sure that you need to use this particular preposition, you should ask the question “where?” To should be translated into Russian as “to”, “in”, “on”. Let's give a few examples.

Let's go to the cinema. - Let's go to the cinema.

Tom and Tim went to the park. - Tom and Tim went to the park.

To consolidate the above material, complete the exercise. To do this, you need to translate sentences from Russian into English.

Let's go to the museum. Yesterday we went to the library at our school. We stayed at a hotel in the city center. This weekend we will go to the village to visit our grandmother.

Now you understand the peculiarities of using the prepositions in, at, on in speech, the rules that govern their use, you can easily give your own examples, compose sentences and phrases. You also know when to use the particles to, in, on, at in English.