Grammar

Prepositions of Time, Place & Movement

in, on, at, by, to, for — small words that cause big errors. Plus the "dependent prepositions" that follow specific verbs and adjectives.

7 min read

Key strategies

1.Time: at for clock times (at 6pm), on for days/dates (on Monday), in for months/years/periods (in July, in the morning).
2.Place: at for points (at the door), on for surfaces (on the table), in for enclosed spaces (in the room).
3.Many verbs/adjectives need a fixed preposition: depend ON, good AT, interested IN, responsible FOR.
4.Do not translate prepositions from your first language — learn them as part of the phrase.

Time: in / on / at

A simple ladder from big to small:

in — long periods: in 2024, in July, in the morning, in winter.
on — specific days and dates: on Monday, on July 5th, on my birthday.
at — exact times and points: at 7pm, at noon, at night.

"The exam is on Saturday at 9am in the morning."

Place: in / on / at

in — enclosed or three-dimensional space: in the box, in Toronto, in the car.
on — a surface or line: on the wall, on the bus, on the second floor.
at — a specific point or place: at the bus stop, at home, at the meeting.

Dependent prepositions

Many words simply require a particular preposition. These are not logical — they must be memorised as a unit:

depend on, listen to, look at, wait for, apply for
good at, interested in, afraid of, responsible for, similar to, married to

✓ "It depends on the weather." ✗ "It depends of the weather." (a very common error)

CELPIP application

Preposition slips ("in Monday", "depend of") are frequent and instantly noticeable. When you learn a new verb or adjective, learn its preposition with it — for example, store "responsible for" as one chunk, not two words.

Check yourself

A quick self-check on this lesson — pick an answer, then see the explanation. Not graded.

1. Choose the correct time preposition: "The meeting is ___ Friday."

2. "I will see you ___ 8 o'clock."

3. Which is correct?

4. "She is very good ___ mathematics."

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