THE USE OF PREPOSITIONS IN REGARD TO PLACES AND LOCATIONS

INTRODUCTION

For starters, what are prepositions? Simply put, prepositions are words or groups of words that are deployed before nouns or pronouns in order to indicate position, place, time or method. Classical examples of prepositions are: in, at, on, up, between, among, above, out of, on behalf of and so forth.

Wrong use of prepositions can just mar your speech or writing, so constant effort must be made to know which to use at every point in time.

Now, as often as not, when talking about locations or places, many a person is torn between the willingness to use the prepositions ‘IN’, ‘ON’ and ‘AT’. How, then, can these prepositions be correctly deployed?
Well, I will give the readership some pertinent rules that will solve this conundrum completely.

RULES IN PREPOSITION USAGE

• Use the preposition ‘IN’ when you are referring to general locations. Examples of such general locations are: continents, countries, counties, states, towns, villages, suburbs and districts, as in:
  Mr. James is domiciled in London (a general location). ✔
  Mr. James is domiciled at London. ❌
  Do you know anyone who lives in Ogba (a suburb of Lagos)? ✔
  Do you know anyone who lives at Ogba? ❌
  Sharon and I spent three years in Asia. ✔
  Sharon and I spent three years at Asia. ❌
  Was Clinton in Anambra State for the 9-day symposium? ✔
  Romeo enjoyed four weeks’ holiday in Amadi Village. ✔
  Romeo enjoyed four weeks’ holiday at Amadi Village. ❌
  The Statue of Liberty is in the US. ✔

• Now, the use of ‘AT’ is possible in the foregoing context when you consider somewhere as a stopping point, as in:
  We stopped at/in Amadi Village. ✔
  The bus stopped at/in London. ✔

• Further, we use ‘IN’ for rooms and indoor spaces like kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms, toilets, etc.
  She is not in the bedroom; she is in the toilet.✔
  She is not at the bedroom; she is at the toilet.❌
  The visitors are asleep in the living room, whereas Sandra is in the kitchen. ✔
  They live in a two-bedroom apartment. ✔

RULES IN PREPOSITION USAGE CONTINUES

• Next, we deploy ‘IN’ with reference to a smaller enclosed place (e.g. a garden, a field, a park) or a larger open space with boundaries (e.g. a forest, a desert, a countryside, the world).
  George is not in the garden. ✔
  George is not at the garden. ❌
  I saw Samson in the park. ✔
  I saw Samson at the park. (This is also possible, especially in British English.) ✔
  I hope she won’t miss her way in the forest. ✔
  I hope she won’t miss her way at the forest. ❌
  What is Felicia doing in the countryside? ✔
  Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the best players in the world. ✔

• Use the preposition ‘IN’ with STREET and AVENUE, if you place a premium on British English. Use the preposition ‘ON’ with STREET and AVENUE, if you subscribe to American English.
  Thompson lives in Johnson Street (British English). ✔
  Thompson lives on Johnson Street (American English). ✔
  The siblings work in Jonathan Avenue (British English). ✔
  The siblings work on Jonathan Avenue (American English). ✔

• Use the preposition ‘ON’ with ESTATE and PREMISES thus:
  I don’t want to see any children on these premises. ✔
  I don’t want to see any children in these premises. ❌
  A decade ago, my aunt worked on Andrew Estate. ✔
  A decade ago, my aunt worked in Andrew Estate. ❌

• Deploy ‘IN/ON’ alongside OUTSKIRTS thus:
  The Philips live in/on the outskirts of Rome. ✔

• Use the preposition ‘ON/UPON’ alongside the verb ‘CONVERGE’ (to come from different places and meet at a place), as in:
  The protesters have converged on/upon Manchester. ✔
  Although I could say:
  The ships will converge in the Atlantic Ocean. ✔

OTHER RULES IN PREPOSITION USAGE

• Owing to the specificity that ‘AT’ exhibits, it is used for specific locations like airports, bus stops, home, etc., as instanced hereunder:
  John has arrived at the airport. ✔
  The children are at the bus stop. ✔
  The children are in the bus stop. ❌
  Brenda and Barnabas are at home. ✔
  Someone is at the gate. ✔
  Someone is in the gate. ❌

Additionally, ‘AT’ is pervasively used with reference to the proper names of organisations or buildings thus:
As of 10:15 a.m., Mr. Fidelis was at Emerald Nursery and Primary School on an official visit.✔
The family arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport few minutes ago. ✔

• Use the preposition ‘AT’ for the particular number (a specific house/building) of a street, an avenue, a crescent, an estate, et cetera. Examples of such specific numbers are:
  I work at 9 Goodness Estate. ✔
  I work on 9 Goodness Estate. ❌
  Who amongst you lives at 20 Ifelodun Street? ✔
  Who amongst you lives in/on 20 Ifelodun Street? ❌

• Always use ‘IN’ with respect to THE WORKPLACE and THE MARKETPLACE.
  This is a manual on how to tackle such problems in the workplace. ✔
  You are expected to deal with people sincerely in the marketplace. ✔

All pictures uploaded are mine.
Thank you great readership.