Table of Contents

Prepositions of place: in, on, at, next to

Introduction

flowers laptop desk on PC home office computer  The laptop is on the desk. The cup is next to the laptop. The flowers are in a vase.


Definition

We use the prepositions 'in', 'on', 'at' and 'next to' to for location and position.


Uses

Uses Examples
in An enclosed spacein a box, a bag, a room, a cupboard, a cup
Towns, cities, states, countries, continents etc.in Birmingham, Kent, California, Japan, Asia
Other large areasin the countryside, a neighbourhood, a district, a park, a car park, a garden, the world
Roadsin a street, a road, an avenue, the High Street, Bingley Road [UK]
Pictures and documentsin a picture, a photo, a painting, a report, an email, a contract, a newspaper, a magazine,a book, a film
Some (smaller) forms of transportin a car, a taxi, a helicopter, an open boat
on A surface - horizontal or verticalon the table, the wall, a shelf, a screen, a plate, a face, a head, page 2, the front cover of the book, the menu
Transport and travelon a bus, train, a boat, a ship, a flight, a trip, a journey, a picnic, a bike ride, a break, holiday
Some locations on the left, the right, the side, the coast, the beach, the 2nd floor
on an island, a farm, a college campus
on a road/street/avenue etc. [mainly US]
on a motorway, the High Street, Oxford Street [i.e. main roads]
on (the) top of At the highest point of something tall or highon top of a cupboard, wardrobe, a hill, a mountain 
at Some locations that are buildings at the cinema, the theatre, the pub, a restaurant, work, home, school, university
Some other locationsat the beach, the lake
A point on a journeyat a junction, traffic lights, a corner, a bus stop
An addressat 88 Bingley Road, 10 Downing Street
Positionsat the back, the front, the top, the bottom, the end

'In’ and ‘out’

As adverbs, these can be used alone to mean 'here' or 'not here':

Examples

tea, man, woman, homme, femme old couple

They're in an office. 

London City Ville England

She's in London.

femme, woman, assistant, secretary, telephone, sécretaire

She's at the reception desk.

open-plan office bureau open space employees employés busy occupé working work travailler computers ordinateurs desks

They're at work.

sofá_sofa

Emily is on the sofa.  

wine, red, white, glasses

pictures, plural, prepositions

The pictures are on the wall.

man, woman, couple, restaurant, homme, femme gift celebrate

The red wine is next to the white wine. Sue's next to Jim.