Prepositions of Place in English | IN ON AT BY UNDER OVER

IN, INSIDE

IN = The object is in an enclosed space (e.g. four walls surround it)

Examples:

• The ball is in the box.
• Paris is in France.
• The fridge is in the kitchen.
• The flowers are in the garden.

INSIDE = The object is completely enclosed space (e.g. four walls and a ceiling surround it)

Examples:

• It’s raining so the kids are inside the house.
• The CD is inside the CD player.
• My bag is inside the car.

 

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ON, ON TOP OF, ABOVE, OVER

ON = One objects is touching the surface of another object 

Examples:

• My phone is on the table.
• The picture is on the shelf.
• The food is on the plate.

ON TOP OF = The same as ON, but emphasising the top part of something.

Examples:

• The magnets are ON the fridge, but the keys are ON TOP OF the fridge. 
• The house is ON the mountain, but the cross is ON TOP OF the mountain.

 

ABOVE = objects not touching

Examples:

• The shelf is above the plant.
• Your nose is above your mouth.

OVER = Similar to above (i.e. at a higher level but not touching). However, we normally use OVER together with a verb. 

Examples:

• You have to fly over the Atlantic Ocean to get to America.
• I can see a rainbow going over the city.
• In tennis, you hit a ball over a net.

 

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UNDER, UNDERNEATH, BELOW, BENEATH

UNDER = one object is covered by another.

Examples:

• My legs are under the table.
• There’s a coin under my foot.
• I lost my watch under the bed.

 

UNDERNEATH = a more formal word for UNDER 

 

BELOW = The opposite of ABOVE. One object is in a lower position than the other.

Examples:

• The plant is below the shelf
• Your mouth is below your nose

 

BENEATH = a more formal word for below.

 

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BY, NEXT TO, BESIDE

BY / NEXT TO = The distance between two objects is small / non-existent

Examples:

• The park is by / next to the supermarket
• My phone is by / next to my laptop

 

BESIDE = a more formal word for BY

 

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AT

Used for a specific place.

Examples: 

• I live at 5 Beverley Road
• My daughter is at the swimming pool.
• I’ll meet you at the train station
• Someone’s at the door

 

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IN FRONT OF, BEHIND

If the pen is in front of the book, the pen is closer to you than the book.

If the pen is behind the book, the pen is further from you than the book.