Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[wdc202]

Can anone refer me to a effective method for teaching students how and when to use "in", "on", and "at?" Thanks much.

[Mister Micawber]

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Hello, WDC-- and welcome to Dave's.

The prepositions have a number of uses, of course, but here are two pointers for a couple of trouble spots:

1-- With regard to time, I teach my students this simple mnemonic: at a time, on a day, in a month/year/etc-- meaning at 2:00/midnight, on Tuesday/weekdays, and in December/2005/the 21st century.

2-- With regard to spatial location: at is a point location, i.e. when the location is viewed as a relatively small point in space: I landed at Tokyo at 2:15. On is a location on a two-dimensional surface: We landed on the tarmac at 2:15. In is a location within a three-dimensional space: We arrived in Ginza just at rush hour.

The unconscious choice of preposition often has much to do with the speaker's current perception of the location, rather than with the physical reality.
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_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[wdc202]

MisterM: Thank you so much for your solid suggestions, the best I have seen.
I'll certainly try them. ... wdc