Prepositions of place

The family is sitting on a bench in the garden.

Grandpa is on the left and mum and dad are at the back. Grandma is in the middle, between the children. The dog is on the right.

Uses

Examples

in

An enclosed space

Towns, cities, states, countries, continents etc.

Other large areas

Roads

Pictures and documents

Some (smaller) forms of transport

in a box, a bag, a room, a cupboard, a cup

in Birmingham, Kent, California, Japan, Asia

in the countryside, a neighbourhood, a district, a park, a car park, a garden, the world

in a street, a road, an avenue, the High Street,

Bingley Road [UK]

in a picture, a photo, a painting, a report, an email, a contract, a newspaper, a magazine

a book, a film

in a car, a taxi, a helicopter, an open boat

on

A surface - horizontal or vertical

Transport and travel

Some locations

on the table, the wall, a shelf, a screen, a plate, a face, a head, page 2, the front cover of the book, the menu

on a bus, train, a boat, a ship, a flight, a trip, a journey, a picnic, a bike ride, a break, holiday

on the left, the right, the side, the coast, the beach, the 2^nd 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 high

on top of a cupboard, wardrobe, a hill, a mountain 

at

Some locations that are buildings

Some other locations

A point on a journey

An address

Positions  

at the cinema, the theatre, the pub, a restaurant, work, home, school, university

at the beach, the lake

at a junction, traffic lights, a corner, a bus stop

at 88 Bingley Road, 10 Downing Street

at the back, the front, the top, the bottom, the end

Uses

Examples

above

Higher than

Our plane is now above the clouds.

Let's put the shelf on this wall above the TV.

Under

Directly below

The cat's under the table.

Opposite

On the other side of something

I sat opposite James at the meeting.

The bank is opposite the station.

Near

A short distance from

"Is the hotel near the station?"

"Yes, it's just a 5-minute walk away."

We live near the sea. [up to a few km away]

next to 

Adjacent to, at the side of [closer than near]

We live next to the sea. [a few metres away - we can see it]

I sit next to Jane at work.

behind

At the back of

The car park is behind the shopping centre.

in front of 

Just ahead of or close to the front part of something

The shopping centre is in front of the car park.

There's a statue in front of the fountain.

around

On every side or in a circular way

Just past a corner, after turning it

'Near', in this area

They sat around a table.

There are lots of restaurants around the square.

Where's the station; is it far?

No, it's around the next corner.

Is there a station around here?

between 

Having something on each side

The bank is between a supermarket and a book shop.

My desk is between Harry's and Marie's.

From

A point of origin

He lives in London now but he's from the north of England.