Prepositions of Place

Prepositions of place are small words that tell us where something is. They help us say where people, animals, and things are.

What You'll Learn

How to use on, in, at, by, under, behind, beside, between, and next to
How to pick the right word to tell where something is

Put the preposition after the verb and before the place.

Preposition	What it means	Example
in	inside something	The toys are in the box.
on	on top of something	The book is on the table.
at	at a place or spot	I am at school.
by	close to, near	The dog is by the gate.
under	below something	The ball is under the bed.
behind	at the back of	The boy is behind the tree.
beside	at the side of	Sit beside your friend.
next to	at the side of (same as beside)	My bag is next to yours.
between	in the middle of two things	The cat is between the two chairs.

Use "in" for inside places: We say "in" when something is inside a space. "The fish is in the pond." "My pencil is in my bag."
Use "on" for surfaces: We say "on" when something touches the top of something. "The cup is on the tray." "The picture is on the wall."
Use "between" with two things: We always say "between" with two things, not one. "The shop is between the bank and the library."

Wrong	Right	Why
The cat is in the chair.	The cat is on the chair.	The cat sits on top of the chair, so we use "on"
She is at the bus.	She is on the bus.	We say "on the bus" when riding it
The park is among the two shops.	The park is between the two shops.	Use "between" for two things

box, bag, room, cupboard, water, pocket

table, chair, desk, wall, floor, shelf

school, home, the door, the bus stop

Tip: Think of a picture in your head. Is it inside? Use "in". Is it on top? Use "on". Is it at a spot? Use "at".

Draw a picture: Draw a room and place things in it. Then write a sentence for each thing. "The teddy bear is on the bed. The shoes are under the bed."
Look around you: Look at your desk right now. Where is your pencil? Where is your bag? Try to say a sentence with "in", "on", or "under".