In/ at/ on/ (place) (1)

Study these examples:

In: in a room, in a garden, in a building, in a town/city, in a box, in a country

At: at the bus stop, at the top (of the page), at the bottom (of the page), at the door, at the window, at the end of the street

On: on the floor, on her nose, on the wall, on a page, on the door, on an island, on the table, on top of the mountain.

Compare in and at: There were a lot of people in the shop. It was very crowded.

But: Go along this road, then turn left at the shop (somebody giving directions).

Compare in and on: There is some water in the bottle.

But: There is a label on the bottle.

Compare at and on: There is somebody at the door. Shall I go and see who it is?

But: There is a notice on the door. It says "Don’t disturb".

In/ at/ on/ (place) (2)

In: when somebody/something is: in a line, in a row, in a queue, in a street, in the mountains, in the north/east, etc.;

but: at 10 the High Street

in a photo, in a picture, (look at yourself) in a mirror;

in the sky, in the world;

in a book, in a newspaper, in a magazine, in a letter but: on a page

On: when somebody/something is: on the left, on the right; on the ground floor, on the first floor; on a map, on the menu (in a restaurant), on a list, on a farm

when a place is: on the river, on the lake, on the road, on the coast; on the beach, on the way to another place

Compare: in the corner of a room, but at the corner (or on the corner) of a street; in the front, in the back of a car, but at the front, at the back of a building (cinema, group of people, etc.); also on the front, on the back of a letter (piece of paper etc.)

In/ at/ on/ (place) (3)

In: with cities, towns and villages: in Paris, in Helston;

but at or in with the place as a point or station on a journey: We stopped at (or in) a small village on the way to London.

when somebody is: in bed, in hospital, in prison;

but at home, at work, at school, at university, at college; at sea (= on a voyage).

Compare: It was a long voyage. We were at sea for 30 days.

I love swimming in the sea.

At: when somebody is at an event: at a party, at a conference etc.; or to say where an event takes place: at the Odeon (cinema), at the Royal Hall