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Oxford Online English, How to Use To, In, and At - Prepositions in English Grammar

How to Use To, In, and At - Prepositions in English Grammar

Hi, I'm Niamh and welcome to Oxford Online English.

In this lesson, we're going to look at the prepositions to, in and at.

Have you ever asked yourself why there don't seem to be any rules for prepositions in English?

If you have problems with these small words, don't worry; you're not the only one!

A good way to understand and learn the difference between prepositions is to look at them in

groups. That way you can compare and contrast them.

We're going to look at to, in and at together because they can be used to talk about place.

First, look at a picture: Listen to three sentences. Which one fits

the picture?

I'm driving to the airport. I'm at the airport.

I'm in the airport.

Which sentence fits? The first one: I'm driving to the airport.

A good way to understand English prepositions is to look at the words that go before and

after them.

Which words go before and after the preposition to?

For example, which verb comes before to in our sample sentence?

The verb drive. Drive is a verb of movement.

To expresses movement, so before to, we need a verb that expresses movement.

So, let's think: can you think of any other verbs which express movement?

Go is an obvious example.

Maybe you also thought of verbs like run, walk or come.

For example:

He ran to end of the road, We walk to school every day.

Do you want to come to my house for dinner?

These verbs are all about people and how they move.

You can also move things.

For example:

He sent a letter to France.

Can you think of any more verbs related to moving things?

Good examples are take or move, but there are many more.

For example:

I took my bike to the shop to get it repaired. We moved the sofa to the other side of the

room.

I have another tip for you. You can also use to after nouns that express movement.

What do I mean by that?

What's the missing word in this sentence?

I'm planning a ---- to China this summer.

Do you know? The missing word is trip.

I'm planning a trip to China this summer.

Can you think of any other nouns like trip, where you can use to after the noun?

You can also use to after nouns like holiday, invitation or way.

For example:

We went on holiday to Egypt last year. They sent us an invitation to their housewarming

party. Do you know the way to the botanical gardens?

There is an exception to these rules. Do you know what it is? It's with a very common

word, which I'm sure you all know. The place home does not use the preposition

to.

You cannot say:

I'm going to home.

The correct sentence is:

I'm going home.

Also, don't use to with the pronouns here or there.

For example:

Bring it to here. Let's go to there and see what we can find.

So, now you know how to use to, use to after verbs or nouns which express movement.

So, what about in? How would you describe this picture? There's

a woman—where is she?

You can say:

She's in the library.

Why do you use in?

You use in to describe being surrounded by walls or other things.

Let's look at some more examples:

The Empire State Building is in New York. They stayed in a small town in the south of

England. My cousin lives in China.

Remember, to understand prepositions, you should look at the words before and after

the preposition.

Let's look at the verbs you can use before in. You can see the verbs be, stay and live.

Do these verbs express movement?

No, they describe states, without movement.

Can you think of other examples of verbs which don't express movement?

There are many. You could use stand, sleep or study. For example:

Why's he standing in the corner like that? She was sleeping in the car on the way here.

Do you prefer to study in your room or in the library?

Now let's look at the nouns.

All of these nouns: New York, China, a small town, the corner, the car, your room, the

library—what connects them?

They're all places which surround you.

You use in for cities, countries and buildings which you are inside.

These are direct, physical ways to use in. Can you think of other things which you can

use after in?

You can also use in in more indirect ways. For example:

Is that you in the picture? She works in the finance department.

I read about it in the newspaper.

So, use in with verbs which don't express movement, like be, stay or live.

And, use in with places or things which surround you.

So, what about at? Look at some examples with at:

She wasn't at the bus stop when the bus came.

I'm waiting for you at the end of the road. We'll meet you at the subway exit.

Which verbs can we use with at? We have be, wait and meet.

These verbs do not express movement.

This sounds very similar to in. So, what's the difference?

Let's look at the words after the preposition. You have the bus stop, the end of the road,

and the subway exit.

Why at the bus stop? Why not in the bus stop?

You use at for bus stop because you're not surrounded by it.

Think about it: the bus stop could just be a pole by the road with a sign on it.

In this case, you can't be in the bus stop, right? There's nothing to be inside.

Similarly, you say at the end of the road or at the subway exit because it's a specific

place, but you're not surrounded by anything.

So, then why do we say things like:

She's studying microbiology at university. I saw it at the cinema.

We can get something to eat at the supermarket.

Why do we say at the cinema and not in the cinema? After all, the cinema is a place which

surrounds you. It's because you use at to talk about why

you go to a particular place.

If you say:

She's studying microbiology at university.

You use at because you talk about what she's doing at university, and why she's there.

She's there because she's a student.

Similarly, if you say:

I saw it at the cinema.

What are you talking about? What is ‘it'?

I hope it's obvious that ‘it' is a film! You say at the cinema because you're going

to the cinema to watch a film.

You're not focusing on the place as a place; you're focusing on why you go there.

Let's look at another, slightly different example:

Did you meet Anne at the party?

Okay, what about party? That's not exactly a physical location. So, why do you use at?

You can also use at for events.

For example:

He met his wife at a speed metal concert. There were so many people at the wedding.

So, like in, you use at to describe where something is.

Unlike in, use at to talk about specific places where you're not surrounded by anything.

You can also use at when you want to focus on why you go to a place, rather than focusing

on the place as a place.

Finally, you can use at for events.

So now we've looked at each preposition individually, let's compare, and contrast

them. Okay, so can you remember the difference between

to, in and at in English? To expresses movement. That means you need

a verb which expresses movement before to, and a place after to.

At and in both express where something is.

There are some places which can only be used with one preposition. For example:

Are you still in bed? There's still some sauce in the fridge.

He sat at the end of the table. What did you do at work today?

In these cases, you can't choose. There's only one possibility.

However, sometimes, you can use either at or in with no difference in meaning:

I can't talk right now. I'm in a meeting. I can't talk right now. I'm at a meeting.

Then, sometimes at and in are both possible, but with slightly different meanings.

For example:

I'm at the bank. I'm in the bank.

Can you tell the difference? Now, these two sentences could have the same

meaning. They aren't necessarily different.

However, they could be different. I'm in the bank focuses on the bank as a physical

place. Maybe it started raining really hard, and you just ran into the bank so you wouldn't

get wet.

I'm at the bank focuses on the bank as a bank. If you say, I'm at the bank, you have

some banking to do there.

Let's see one more example like this:

We were at Mike's apartment last night. We were in Mike's apartment last night.

Can you tell the difference this time? This time, the sentences are definitely different,

and you probably wouldn't use one of them!

We were at Mike's apartment last night focuses on why you were there. Why were you there?

You were visiting Mike, probably. Maybe you went over to Mike's for dinner, or something

like that.

We were in Mike's apartment last night focuses on Mike's apartment as a place. This suggests

that you were in Mike's apartment, but Mike wasn't. So, what were you doing there?

This is why you probably wouldn't say in Mike's apartment.

I hope some of these rules have helped you understand the difference between these prepositions.

I strongly recommend that when you are learning vocabulary, don't just learn one word but

learn the words on either side too.

For example, if you want to learn the word bus stop, learn a full phrase, like wait at

the bus stop. That way it's easier to remember the correct preposition.

If you enjoyed this lesson you can find more of our free lessons at OxfordOnlineEnglish.com.

Thanks for watching!


How to Use To, In, and At - Prepositions in English Grammar Wie man To, In und At verwendet - Präpositionen in der englischen Grammatik How to Use To, In, and At - Las preposiciones en la gramática inglesa Comment utiliser To, In et At - Prépositions dans la grammaire anglaise Come usare To, In e At - Preposizioni nella grammatica inglese To、In、Atの使い方 - 英文法における前置詞 영어 문법의 전치사 To, In, At을 사용하는 방법 Hoe gebruik je To, In en At - voorzetsels in de Engelse grammatica? Jak używać do, w i na - przyimki w gramatyce angielskiej Como usar To, In e At - Preposições na gramática inglesa Как использовать предлоги to, in и at - предлоги в английской грамматике To, In ve At Edatları Nasıl Kullanılır - İngilizce Dilbilgisinde Edatlar Як використовувати To, In та At - прийменники в англійській граматиці 如何使用英语语法中的介词 To、In 和 At 如何使用英語文法中的介詞 To、In 和 At

Hi, I'm Niamh and welcome to Oxford Online English. Cześć, jestem Niamh i witam w Oxford Online English.

In this lesson, we're going to look at the prepositions to, in and at. W tej lekcji przyjrzymy się przyimkom do, w i na.

Have you ever asked yourself why there don't seem to be any rules for prepositions in English? Haben Sie sich schon einmal gefragt, warum es im Englischen anscheinend keine Regeln für Präpositionen gibt? Czy kiedykolwiek zadawałeś sobie pytanie, dlaczego wydaje się, że nie ma żadnych zasad dotyczących przyimków w języku angielskim?

If you have problems with these small words, don't worry; you're not the only one! Wenn Sie Probleme mit diesen kleinen Wörtern haben, machen Sie sich keine Sorgen; du bist nicht der Einzige!

A good way to understand and learn the difference between prepositions is to look at them in Eine gute Möglichkeit, den Unterschied zwischen Präpositionen zu verstehen und zu lernen, besteht darin, sie sich anzusehen

groups. That way you can compare and contrast them. Gruppen. Auf diese Weise können Sie sie vergleichen und gegenüberstellen.

We're going to look at to, in and at together because they can be used to talk about place. Wir werden zusammen auf to, in und at schauen, weil sie verwendet werden können, um über Orte zu sprechen.

First, look at a picture: Listen to three sentences. Which one fits Schauen Sie sich zuerst ein Bild an: Hören Sie sich drei Sätze an. Welche passt

the picture? das Bild?

I'm driving to the airport. I'm at the airport. Ich fahre zum Flughafen. Ich bin am Flughafen.

I'm in the airport. Ich bin am Flughafen.

Which sentence fits? The first one: I'm driving to the airport.

A good way to understand English prepositions is to look at the words that go before and Eine gute Möglichkeit, englische Präpositionen zu verstehen, besteht darin, sich die Wörter anzusehen, die vor und stehen

after them.

Which words go before and after the preposition to?

For example, which verb comes before to in our sample sentence? Welches Verb steht beispielsweise vor in unserem Beispielsatz?

The verb drive. Drive is a verb of movement.

To expresses movement, so before to, we need a verb that expresses movement. To drückt Bewegung aus, also brauchen wir vor to ein Verb, das Bewegung ausdrückt.

So, let's think: can you think of any other verbs which express movement?

Go is an obvious example. Go ist ein offensichtliches Beispiel.

Maybe you also thought of verbs like run, walk or come. Vielleicht hast du auch an Verben wie rennen, gehen oder kommen gedacht.

For example:

He ran to end of the road, We walk to school every day. Er rannte bis zum Ende der Straße. Wir gehen jeden Tag zur Schule.

Do you want to come to my house for dinner? Willst du zum Abendessen zu mir nach Hause kommen?

These verbs are all about people and how they move. Bei diesen Verben dreht sich alles um Menschen und wie sie sich bewegen.

You can also move things. Sie können auch Dinge bewegen.

For example:

He sent a letter to France. Er schickte einen Brief nach Frankreich.

Can you think of any more verbs related to moving things?

Good examples are take or move, but there are many more.

For example:

I took my bike to the shop to get it repaired. We moved the sofa to the other side of the Ich brachte mein Fahrrad in die Werkstatt, um es reparieren zu lassen. Wir haben das Sofa auf die andere Seite gestellt

room.

I have another tip for you. You can also use to after nouns that express movement. Ich habe noch einen Tipp für dich. Du kannst auch nach Substantiven verwenden, die Bewegung ausdrücken.

What do I mean by that? Was meine ich damit? どういう意味かって?

What's the missing word in this sentence? Was ist das fehlende Wort in diesem Satz?

I'm planning a ---- to China this summer. Ich plane diesen Sommer einen ---- nach China.

Do you know? The missing word is trip.

I'm planning a trip to China this summer.

Can you think of any other nouns like trip, where you can use to after the noun?

You can also use to after nouns like holiday, invitation or way. Sie können auch nach Substantiven wie Urlaub, Einladung oder Weg verwenden.

For example:

We went on holiday to Egypt last year. They sent us an invitation to their housewarming

party. Do you know the way to the botanical gardens? Party. Kennen Sie den Weg zum Botanischen Garten?

There is an exception to these rules. Do you know what it is? It's with a very common Es gibt eine Ausnahme von diesen Regeln. Weißt du was das ist? Es ist mit einem sehr häufig

word, which I'm sure you all know. The place home does not use the preposition Wort, das Sie sicher alle kennen. Der Ort Zuhause verwendet die Präposition nicht

to.

You cannot say:

I'm going to home.

The correct sentence is:

I'm going home.

Also, don't use to with the pronouns here or there. Verwenden Sie auch nicht to mit den Pronomen hier oder dort.

For example:

Bring it to here. Let's go to there and see what we can find. Bring es hierher. Lasst uns dorthin gehen und sehen, was wir finden können.

So, now you know how to use to, use to after verbs or nouns which express movement.

So, what about in? How would you describe this picture? There's Also, was ist mit drin? Wie würden Sie dieses Bild beschreiben? Es gibt

a woman—where is she? eine Frau – wo ist sie?

You can say:

She's in the library. Sie ist in der Bibliothek.

Why do you use in? Warum verwenden Sie in?

You use in to describe being surrounded by walls or other things. Sie verwenden in, um zu beschreiben, von Mauern oder anderen Dingen umgeben zu sein.

Let's look at some more examples:

The Empire State Building is in New York. They stayed in a small town in the south of Das Empire State Building steht in New York. Sie blieben in einer kleinen Stadt im Süden von

England. My cousin lives in China.

Remember, to understand prepositions, you should look at the words before and after Denken Sie daran, um Präpositionen zu verstehen, sollten Sie sich die Wörter davor und danach ansehen

the preposition.

Let's look at the verbs you can use before in. You can see the verbs be, stay and live.

Do these verbs express movement?

No, they describe states, without movement. Nein, sie beschreiben Zustände, ohne Bewegung.

Can you think of other examples of verbs which don't express movement? Fallen dir andere Beispiele für Verben ein, die keine Bewegung ausdrücken?

There are many. You could use stand, sleep or study. For example:

Why's he standing in the corner like that? She was sleeping in the car on the way here. Warum steht er so in der Ecke? Sie hat auf dem Weg hierher im Auto geschlafen.

Do you prefer to study in your room or in the library? Lernst du lieber in deinem Zimmer oder in der Bibliothek?

Now let's look at the nouns. Schauen wir uns nun die Substantive an.

All of these nouns: New York, China, a small town, the corner, the car, your room, the

library—what connects them?

They're all places which surround you. Das sind alles Orte, die dich umgeben.

You use in for cities, countries and buildings which you are inside.

These are direct, physical ways to use in. Can you think of other things which you can

use after in?

You can also use in in more indirect ways. For example: Sie können in auch auf indirektere Weise verwenden. Zum Beispiel:

Is that you in the picture? She works in the finance department. Bist du das in dem Bild? Sie arbeitet in der Finanzabteilung.

I read about it in the newspaper. Ich habe davon in der Zeitung gelesen.

So, use in with verbs which don't express movement, like be, stay or live.

And, use in with places or things which surround you.

So, what about at? Look at some examples with at:

She wasn't at the bus stop when the bus came. Sie war nicht an der Bushaltestelle, als der Bus kam.

I'm waiting for you at the end of the road. We'll meet you at the subway exit. Ich warte am Ende der Straße auf dich. Wir treffen uns am Ausgang der U-Bahn.

Which verbs can we use with at? We have be, wait and meet. Welche Verben können wir mit at verwenden? Wir müssen sein, warten und uns treffen.

These verbs do not express movement.

This sounds very similar to in. So, what's the difference?

Let's look at the words after the preposition. You have the bus stop, the end of the road,

and the subway exit.

Why at the bus stop? Why not in the bus stop?

You use at for bus stop because you're not surrounded by it. Sie benutzen at als Bushaltestelle, weil Sie nicht davon umgeben sind.

Think about it: the bus stop could just be a pole by the road with a sign on it. Denken Sie darüber nach: Die Bushaltestelle könnte auch nur ein Pfosten an der Straße mit einem Schild darauf sein.

In this case, you can't be in the bus stop, right? There's nothing to be inside. In diesem Fall können Sie nicht an der Bushaltestelle sein, oder? Es darf nichts drin sein.

Similarly, you say at the end of the road or at the subway exit because it's a specific Ähnlich sagen Sie am Ende der Straße oder am U-Bahn-Ausgang, weil es eine bestimmte ist

place, but you're not surrounded by anything. Ort, aber du bist von nichts umgeben.

So, then why do we say things like: Warum sagen wir dann Dinge wie:

She's studying microbiology at university. I saw it at the cinema. Sie studiert Mikrobiologie an der Universität. Ich habe es im Kino gesehen.

We can get something to eat at the supermarket. Im Supermarkt können wir etwas zu essen bekommen.

Why do we say at the cinema and not in the cinema? After all, the cinema is a place which

surrounds you. It's because you use at to talk about why umgibt dich. Es liegt daran, dass Sie at verwenden, um darüber zu sprechen, warum

you go to a particular place. Sie gehen an einen bestimmten Ort.

If you say:

She's studying microbiology at university.

You use at because you talk about what she's doing at university, and why she's there.

She's there because she's a student.

Similarly, if you say:

I saw it at the cinema. Ich habe es im Kino gesehen.

What are you talking about? What is ‘it'? Worüber redest du? Was ist es'?

I hope it's obvious that ‘it' is a film! You say at the cinema because you're going

to the cinema to watch a film.

You're not focusing on the place as a place; you're focusing on why you go there. Du konzentrierst dich nicht auf den Ort als Ort; du konzentrierst dich darauf, warum du dorthin gehst.

Let's look at another, slightly different example: Schauen wir uns ein weiteres, etwas anderes Beispiel an:

Did you meet Anne at the party? Hast du Anne auf der Party getroffen?

Okay, what about party? That's not exactly a physical location. So, why do you use at?

You can also use at for events.

For example:

He met his wife at a speed metal concert. There were so many people at the wedding. Er lernte seine Frau bei einem Speed-Metal-Konzert kennen. Es waren so viele Leute bei der Hochzeit.

So, like in, you use at to describe where something is. Wie in verwenden Sie also at, um zu beschreiben, wo sich etwas befindet.

Unlike in, use at to talk about specific places where you're not surrounded by anything. Verwenden Sie im Gegensatz zu at at, um über bestimmte Orte zu sprechen, an denen Sie von nichts umgeben sind.

You can also use at when you want to focus on why you go to a place, rather than focusing Sie können at auch verwenden, wenn Sie sich darauf konzentrieren möchten, warum Sie an einen Ort gehen, anstatt sich darauf zu konzentrieren

on the place as a place. auf den Ort als Ort.

Finally, you can use at for events.

So now we've looked at each preposition individually, let's compare, and contrast Jetzt haben wir uns jede Präposition einzeln angesehen, vergleichen und gegenüberstellen

them. Okay, so can you remember the difference between

to, in and at in English? To expresses movement. That means you need to, in und at auf Englisch? To drückt Bewegung aus. Das heißt, Sie brauchen

a verb which expresses movement before to, and a place after to. ein Verb, das Bewegung vor to und eine Stelle nach to ausdrückt.

At and in both express where something is. At und in drücken aus, wo etwas ist.

There are some places which can only be used with one preposition. For example: Es gibt Stellen, die nur mit einer Präposition verwendet werden können. Zum Beispiel:

Are you still in bed? There's still some sauce in the fridge. Bist Du noch immer im Bett? Es ist noch etwas Soße im Kühlschrank.

He sat at the end of the table. What did you do at work today? Er saß am Ende des Tisches. Was hast du heute bei der Arbeit gemacht?

In these cases, you can't choose. There's only one possibility.

However, sometimes, you can use either at or in with no difference in meaning:

I can't talk right now. I'm in a meeting. I can't talk right now. I'm at a meeting. Ich kann gerade nicht sprechen. Ich bin in einem Meeting. Ich kann gerade nicht sprechen. Ich bin bei einem Treffen.

Then, sometimes at and in are both possible, but with slightly different meanings.

For example:

I'm at the bank. I'm in the bank. Ich bin bei der Bank. Ich bin in der Bank.

Can you tell the difference? Now, these two sentences could have the same

meaning. They aren't necessarily different. Bedeutung. Sie sind nicht unbedingt unterschiedlich.

However, they could be different. I'm in the bank focuses on the bank as a physical Sie könnten jedoch unterschiedlich sein. Ich bin in der Bank konzentriert sich auf die Bank als Physisches

place. Maybe it started raining really hard, and you just ran into the bank so you wouldn't

get wet.

I'm at the bank focuses on the bank as a bank. If you say, I'm at the bank, you have Ich bin bei der Bank konzentriert sich auf die Bank als Bank. Wenn Sie sagen, ich bin bei der Bank, haben Sie es getan

some banking to do there. einige Bankgeschäfte dort zu erledigen.

Let's see one more example like this:

We were at Mike's apartment last night. We were in Mike's apartment last night. Wir waren letzte Nacht in Mikes Wohnung. Wir waren letzte Nacht in Mikes Wohnung.

Can you tell the difference this time? This time, the sentences are definitely different, Könnt ihr diesmal den Unterschied erkennen? Diesmal sind die Sätze definitiv anders,

and you probably wouldn't use one of them!

We were at Mike's apartment last night focuses on why you were there. Why were you there? Wir waren letzte Nacht in Mikes Wohnung und konzentrieren uns darauf, warum Sie dort waren. Warum warst du da?

You were visiting Mike, probably. Maybe you went over to Mike's for dinner, or something

like that.

We were in Mike's apartment last night focuses on Mike's apartment as a place. This suggests

that you were in Mike's apartment, but Mike wasn't. So, what were you doing there? dass Sie in Mikes Wohnung waren, Mike aber nicht. Also, was hast du dort gemacht? あなたはマイクのアパートにいたけど、マイクはいなかった。では、そこで何をしていたのですか?

This is why you probably wouldn't say in Mike's apartment. だからマイクのアパートでは言わないんだろうね。

I hope some of these rules have helped you understand the difference between these prepositions.

I strongly recommend that when you are learning vocabulary, don't just learn one word but

learn the words on either side too. lernen Sie auch die Wörter auf beiden Seiten.

For example, if you want to learn the word bus stop, learn a full phrase, like wait at Wenn du zum Beispiel das Wort Bushaltestelle lernen möchtest, lerne einen ganzen Satz, wie warten bei

the bus stop. That way it's easier to remember the correct preposition.

If you enjoyed this lesson you can find more of our free lessons at OxfordOnlineEnglish.com.

Thanks for watching!