Saltar al contenido
Trilango
Iniciar sesiónRegistrarse
A1grammar78 preguntas

Basic prepositions

Las preposiciones básicas (at, on, in) llevan tiempo y lugar, y cada una dibuja una imagen distinta: un punto, una superficie o un espacio cerrado. Aquí trabajas la escala at/on/in tanto para el lugar como para el tiempo.

Aprendizaje rápido

Las preposiciones básicas llevan tiempo y lugar, y cada una dibuja una imagen distinta: un punto, una superficie o un espacio cerrado.

Recuerda

  • at es un punto: at six, at the door. on es una superficie o un día: on the table, on Monday.
  • in es un espacio cerrado o un periodo más largo: in the drawer, in April, in 2026.
  • El movimiento usa to, into y onto; la posición usa at, in y on.

Ejemplos

  1. 1Our English grammar class starts at nine o'clock in the morning.
  2. 2We always enjoy a quiet family dinner together on Sunday evenings.

Error común que evitar

El tiempo y el lugar siguen la misma escala at/on/in de lo estrecho a lo amplio, así que una preposición aprendida solo como palabra de lugar seguirá estando mal en una expresión de tiempo.

Profundiza

La regla

  1. From points to spaces

    Prepositions are connective words that show position in space and time. The three core prepositions in English are AT, ON, and IN. A proven way to master them is to follow a ladder of specificity from precise points to broad expanses:

  2. At

    (1) AT (Specific Points): Time: Exact clock times and precise moments ("at 7:30", "at noon", "at midnight", "at bedtime"). Place: A specific geographic address, point, or functional station ("at 42 Elm Street", "at the bus stop", "at the door", "at home", "at work", "at the station").

  3. On

    (2) ON (Days, Dates, and Surfaces): Time: Days of the week and specific calendar dates ("on Monday", "on Friday mornings", "on May 4th", "on New Year's Day"). Place: Position on a flat horizontal or vertical surface ("on the table", "on the wall", "on the floor"), along a street without a building number ("on Oxford Street"), and aboard public mass transport ("on the bus", "on the train", "on the airplane").

  4. In

    (3) IN (Enclosed Spaces and Extended Periods): Time: Longer periods including months, years, seasons, decades, and parts of the day ("in July", "in 2026", "in summer", "in the morning", "in the evening"). Place: Position inside a three-dimensional container, room, building, city, or country ("in the box", "in the kitchen", "in London", "in Canada", "in a private car").

  5. Other place prepositions

    Other key spatial prepositions: under (under the bed), next to / beside (next to the sofa), between (between the library and the bank), behind (behind the curtains), in front of (in front of the school).

Anatomía de la frase

Frases de esta lección, separadas en sus partes en el orden que exige el inglés.

  1. SujetoOur English grammar classVerbostartsTiempoat nine o'clock in the morning.

  2. SujetoSheVerbokeepsObjetoher house keysModosafelyLugarinside her winter coat pocket.

  3. SujetoThe family catVerbo auxiliarisVerbosleepingModosoundlyLugarunder the warm kitchen table.

Guía visual

How to read this A1 topic

At A1, aim for one clear sentence: subject, verb, agreement, and a simple complement.

1. Find the subject

English normally needs an explicit subject before the verb.

It is cold.

2. Check the verb form

Be, have, and third-person -s carry a lot of early grammar.

She works here.

3. Keep a model sentence

Learn one short pattern and swap the words carefully.

I am a student.

Decision path before answering

Use these checks before choosing between close options.

  1. 1Mark the subject, main verb, object, and any connector.
  2. 2Underline the time expression or discourse clue.
  3. 3Reject any option with the wrong agreement, tense, article, pronoun case, or word order.
  4. 4Read the whole sentence once more for naturalness and register.

Contrasts that often decide the answer

Event or background

Simple forms move events forward; continuous forms show an action in progress.

I left while she was talking.

Fact or stance

Modals, hedges, and reporting structures show how certain or responsible the speaker sounds.

This may indicate a problem.

Clause or compressed phrase

Advanced writing often compresses full clauses into participle, noun, or prepositional phrases.

Having reviewed the data, we revised the plan.

Ejemplos

  1. 1Our English grammar class starts at nine o'clock in the morning.
  2. 2We always enjoy a quiet family dinner together on Sunday evenings.
  3. 3My younger sister was born in 2004 in a small coastal town in Canada.
  4. 4The laptop computer is sitting on the desk next to the reading lamp.
  5. 5Please meet me at the main entrance of the central train station at noon.
  6. 6She keeps her house keys safely inside her winter coat pocket.
  7. 7They always travel to southern Europe on holiday during the month of August.
  8. 8There is a beautiful oil painting hanging on the living room wall.
  9. 9The family cat is sleeping soundly under the warm kitchen table.
  10. 10The local community bank is located between the pharmacy and the bakery.

Excepciones

The Zero Preposition Rule: Never use at, on, or in before time expressions introduced by this, next, last, or every ("I will see you next Monday", not "on next Monday"; "We travelled abroad last year", not "in last year"). While parts of the day take in ("in the morning"), night uniquely takes at ("at night"). British English uses "at the weekend" and "in Oxford Street", whereas American English uses "on the weekend" and "on Oxford Street".

Errores frecuentes

  • Preposition intrusion before next or last

    Error

    I will call you on next Friday.

    Correcto

    I will call you next Friday.

    Expressions with next omit the preposition.

  • Wrong year preposition

    Error

    She graduated on 2022.

    Correcto

    She graduated in 2022.

    Calendar years require in.

  • Confusing at home with in home

    Error

    He is staying in home today.

    Correcto

    He is staying at home today.

    Fixed location takes at home.

Repaso

Lo esencial de la lección en una tarjeta, antes de ponerte a prueba.

Recuerda

  1. at es un punto: at six, at the door. on es una superficie o un día: on the table, on Monday.
  2. in es un espacio cerrado o un periodo más largo: in the drawer, in April, in 2026.
  3. El movimiento usa to, into y onto; la posición usa at, in y on.

Errores frecuentes

  • Error: I will call you on next Friday.

    Correcto: I will call you next Friday.

  • Error: She graduated on 2022.

    Correcto: She graduated in 2022.

  • Error: He is staying in home today.

    Correcto: He is staying at home today.

Ponte a prueba

Agrupa las tarjetas en tiempo y lugar, y practica hasta que la imagen llegue antes que la palabra.

Temas gramaticales relacionados

Continúa reforzando tu nivel con estos temas relacionados.

SiguienteJuegosVolver al plan de hoy