PREPOSITIONS AT, ON, IN EXERCISE 2 (ESL)
level: Intermediate (B1/B2)
A second exercise on at, on, and in, with a heavier focus on fixed expressions and idiomatic uses — phrases like on time, at most, in class, and in line where the preposition is part of a set combination. If you haven’t done exercise 1 yet, start there.
Grammar review
At, on, in — idiomatic and fixed expressions
Beyond the basic rules, at, on, and in appear in a large number of fixed expressions where the preposition must simply be memorized as part of the phrase.
Common expressions with AT:
at work, at home, at school, at most, at first, at last, at the moment, at risk, at fault, at all
Common expressions with ON:
on time, on sale, on holiday, on the phone, on the weekend, on purpose, on foot, on the way
Common expressions with IN:
in class, in hospital (British), in a hurry, in the end, in line, in trouble, in love, in time, in the neighbourhood
Tricky pairs in this exercise:
on time (punctual, exactly when expected) vs in time (not too late, before a deadline)
at most (maximum) vs in all (in total)
in hospital (British: as a patient) vs in the hospital (American, or visiting)
Beyond the basic rules, at, on, and in appear in a large number of fixed expressions where the preposition must simply be memorized as part of the phrase.
Common expressions with AT:
at work, at home, at school, at most, at first, at last, at the moment, at risk, at fault, at all
Common expressions with ON:
on time, on sale, on holiday, on the phone, on the weekend, on purpose, on foot, on the way
Common expressions with IN:
in class, in hospital (British), in a hurry, in the end, in line, in trouble, in love, in time, in the neighbourhood
Tricky pairs in this exercise:
on time (punctual, exactly when expected) vs in time (not too late, before a deadline)
at most (maximum) vs in all (in total)
in hospital (British: as a patient) vs in the hospital (American, or visiting)
Fill in each blank with at, on, or in.
1. The train will arrive time.✓
2. I'm not at home. I'm work.✓
3. Those runners are sale until Tuesday.✓
4. Amelia fell asleep class this morning.✓
5. Is your grandfather still the hospital?✓
6. The drive to Atlanta will take five hours most.✓
7. This is the most expensive neighborhood San Francisco.✓
8. He was a bit confused first.✓
9. We normally go to the beach the weekend.✓
10. We were standing line for two hours.✓
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PREPOSITION EXERCISES:
Prepositions: at, on, in 1 (B1/B2)
Prepositions: at, on, in 2 (B1/B2)
Prepositions of time 1 (A1/A2)
Prepositions of time 2 (A2/B1)
For or since? 1 (B1/B2)
Mixed prepositions 1 (B1/B2)
Mixed prepositions 2 (B1/B2)
Mixed prepositions 3 (A1/A2)
Prepositions after adjectives 1 (B1/B2)
Prepositions after adjectives 2 (B1/B2)
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Prepositions: at, on, in 1 (B1/B2)
Prepositions: at, on, in 2 (B1/B2)
Prepositions of time 1 (A1/A2)
Prepositions of time 2 (A2/B1)
For or since? 1 (B1/B2)
Mixed prepositions 1 (B1/B2)
Mixed prepositions 2 (B1/B2)
Mixed prepositions 3 (A1/A2)
Prepositions after adjectives 1 (B1/B2)
Prepositions after adjectives 2 (B1/B2)
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