I’m at a desk, sitting in a chair with my laptop in front of me; writing this on my computer, by a window, in my room at 10 a.m. (not at night!). It’s quite easy to imagine the scene of me working on this topic of prepositions by using them.
If you didn’t know, a preposition is a word that normally goes before a noun phrase or pronoun. Its purpose is to show how a noun or pronoun connects to location, direction, and/or time – AT a desk, IN a chair, ON my computer, BY a window, AT 10 a.m.
Prepositions relating to transport
As you can imagine, there are many preposition words for location, direction, and/or time. There are few prepositions relating to transport but they still can cause problems.
Imagine you’re travelling somewhere using transport, you get a phone call and you explain your location; depending on what transport you’re using or are about to use, the preposition will be different.
ON, IN, or AT guidelines
Answering the phone call are you; “ON the train”, or “IN the train”? “IN your car.”, or “AT your car”? It is a case of remembering which preposition is correct for each situation.
For transportation, the guidelines are:
IN – private transportation
IN
Use IN for private transportation – IN a car, IN a taxi, IN a lorry, IN a boat
ON – Public transport
ON
For public transportation, use ON – ON the bus, ON the train, ON the plane, ON a ship
ON is also used for things that one person can sit or stand on to ride – ON a bike, ON a motorbike, ON a horse, ON a skateboard
AT – places where you wait
AT
Use AT for places where you wait for transport – AT the bus stop, AT the airport, AT the train station
Alternative preposition, alternative meaning
Remember, these are guidelines; it is possible what you’re talking about is ON the car, IN the bus, or, IN the airport.
When talking about your location connecting to transport, practice the above. So, whenever you are IN your car, AT the train station, waiting for someone who is ON the train, you will know the locations of each!
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