English Grammar in Use With Answers » Unit 125: In/at/on (position) 3

In hospital / at work etc.

We say that somebody is in hospital / in prison / in jail:
  • Anna's mother is in hospital.

We say that somebody is at work / at school / at university / at college:
  • I'll be at work until 5.30.
  • Julia is studying chemistry at university.

We say that somebody is at home or is home (with or without at), but we say do something at home (with at):
  • I'll be at home all evening. or I'll be home all evening.
  • Shall we go to a restaurant or eat at home?

At a party / at a concert etc.

We say that somebody is at an event (at a party / at a conference etc.):
  • Were there many people at the party / at the meeting / at the wedding?
  • I saw Steve at a conference / at a concert on Saturday.

In and at for buildings

You can often use in or at with buildings. For example, you can eat in a restaurant or at a restaurant; you can buy something in a supermarket or at a supermarket. We usually say at when we say where an event takes place (for example: a concert, a film, a party, a meeting):
  • We went to a concert at the National Concert Hall.
  • The meeting took place at the company's head office in Frankfurt.
  • There was a robbery at the supermarket.

We say at the station / at the airport:
  • There's no need to meet me at the station. I can get a taxi.

We say at somebody's house:
  • I was at Helen's house last night. or I was at Helen's last night.

Also at the doctor's / at the hairdresser's etc.

We use in when we are thinking about the building itself. Compare:
  • We had dinner at the hotel.
    All the rooms in the hotel have air conditioning. (not at the hotel)
  • I was at Helen's (house) last night.
    It's always cold in Helen's house. The heating doesn't work well. (not at Helen's house)

In and at for towns etc.

We normally use in with cities, towns and villages:
  • The Louvre is a famous art museum in Paris. (not at Paris)
  • Sam's parents live in a village in the south of France. (not at a village)

We use at when we think of the place as a point or station on a journey:
  • Does this train stop at Oxford? (= at Oxford station)

On a bus / in a car etc.

We usually say on a bus / on a train / on a plane / on a ship but in a car / in a taxi:
  • The bus was very full. There were too many people on it.
  • Laura arrived in a taxi.

We say on a bike (= bicycle) / on a motorbike / on a horse:
  • Jane passed me on her bike.

125.1 Complete the sentences about the pictures. Use in, at or on with the words below the pictures.

  1. You can hire a car .
  2. Dave is __________ .
  3. Karen is __________ .
  4. Martin is __________ .
  5. Judy is __________ .
  6. I saw Gary __________ .
  7. We spent a few days __________ .
  8. We went to a show __________ .

125.2 Complete the sentences. Use in, at or on + the following:

  • the plane
  • hospital
  • a taxi
  • the station
  • the cinema
  • Tokyo
  • school
  • prison
  • the airport
  • the sports centre
  1. My train arrives at 11.30. Can you meet me ?
  2. We walked to the restaurant, but we went home __________ .
  3. I'd like to see a film. What's on __________ this week?
  4. Some people are __________ for crimes that they did not commit.
  5. 'What does your sister do? Does she have a job?' 'No, she's still __________ .'
  6. I play basketball __________ on Friday evenings.
  7. A friend of mine was injured in an accident a few days ago. She's still __________ .
  8. Our flight was delayed. We had to wait __________ for four hours.
  9. I enjoyed the flight, but the food __________ wasn't very nice.
  10. Vicky has gone to Japan. She's living __________ .

125.3 Complete these sentences with in, at or on.

  1. We went to a concert (1) the National Concert Hall.
  2. It was a very slow train. It stopped (2) __________ every station.
  3. My parents live (3) __________ a small village about 50 miles from London.
  4. I haven't seen Kate for some time. I last saw her (4) __________ David's wedding.
  5. We stayed (5) __________ a very comfortable hotel when we were (6) __________ Amsterdam.
  6. There were about fifty rooms (7) __________ the hotel.
  7. I don't know where my umbrella is. Perhaps I left it (8) __________ the bus.
  8. 'Where were you on Monday evening?' 'I was (9) __________ a friend's house.'
  9. There must be somebody (10) __________ the house. The lights are on.
  10. The exhibition (11) __________ the Museum of Modern Art finishes on Saturday.
  11. Shall we travel (12) __________ your car or mine?
  12. I didn't expect you to be (13) __________ home. I thought you'd be (14) __________ work.
  13. 'Did you like the movie?' 'Yes, but it was too hot (15) __________ the cinema.'
  14. Paul lives (16) __________ Birmingham. He's a student (17) __________ Birmingham University.

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