Using the three prepositions (in/on/at) when their use is related to the word after them is very confusing to learners.  E.g. in these examples all the prepositions refer to a location:     The players were on court for three hours   Do you feel sleepy at school or at work?   Originally found in all countries   Also, the three prepositions are used to refer to a time like on the weekend, at 7 AM and in the morning.  Is there an easy way to tell which one is correct to use? If not, can someone please lead me to where (a website) I can learn to use them correctly?
4170
I am really confused.  Which preposition is correct?     She is in/at the park.   They are in/at the park.   I am in/at the park.   Should I use in or at in these sentences?
101813
I need a word (ideally) or phrase that means "daytime" that can be used in a sentence "the event happened at dawn/dusk/night/day"  "The event happened at day", and "The event happened at daytime" don't seem to really sound right.  The key thing here is fitting into a sentence that has the word 'at' in it, because it is going into construction of a sentence on a web site that has to cover these possibilities.  A typical example might be "The battle occurred at night in the rain", or "The battle occurred at day in the mist".   The latter doesn't sound right.
70723
I know that we use the preposition at to describe a place. I learned French at school is one of the examples I can think of.   I came across two examples that use the preposition 'in' with 'schools' in the context of 'learning'.   Example #1 from the  website:      Eleven things that you will never learn in school.   Example #2 from      Do you think the skills you learn in school will help you get the job you want?   The use that I had in my mind is here on      Should Parents Control What Kids Learn at School?
59343
When watching US television news or reading US news articles there is this affectation where instead of saying:     "Spotify music-streaming service to launch in U.S. on Thursday" ()   or      "Leading credit rating agency Moody's said on Wednesday that the U.S. government's impeccable credit..." ()   The on preposition is missed out.  Is this just a peculiar US journalistic "news speak" shortcut or do American non-journalist writers write this way too?
107436
I know that the pattern manner-place-time shouldn't be taken too seriously if one wants to speak natural English.   In real life, people rarely use a string of adverbs. Speakers will easily break the pattern for emphatic or stylistic reasons (usually placing the adverb at the beginning of the sentence). Other factors such as length and specificity will also override the arrangement.  But I'm constructing illustrative sentences that highlight (and stick to) the Royal Order of Adverbs.   What all the online sources are doing is mixing adverbs and prepositional phrases, but I can't have the concept of prepositional phrases in my examples just yet. This means I should include only one-word or two-word adverbs (without prepositions).   So, I have these:    He sat quietly upstairs all day. She waited impatiently outside this morning. They gather noisily downtown every Saturday night.   Are the sentences above still correct, as in natural-sounding? Somehow they started sounding a bit off to me. I guess I just need to test them with a second pair of ears.
72236
Which is correct?     The average time spent on reading in my country is disappointing.   Or      The average time spent reading in my country is disappointing   Generally for this sentence, do we need a preposition? Is "on" correct here, or might it be "in"?
28842
This must be a simple question for a native speaker.  I know that we use "on" with dates: I'll see you on January 1st.  And we use "at" with times: I'll see you at 17:30.  But what preposition has to be used when we speak for date and time:  I'll see you on January 1st at 17:30. looks ok.  But what in this case: It happened on 2014-01-01 17:30.  Is "on" correct when we are specifying the date and the time?   The date-time comes as a ready text as 2014-01-01 17:30 and I cannot modify it. I can only put text before the date-time string or after it.
122825
When I'm talking about habit or custom, can I say:     "The king comes on Sunday and goes Monday."   without using the preposition "on" before "Monday"?
64642
I am solving the TOEIC workbook, by the way, I faced conflict that doesn't match meaning I knew.  The problem is     The newest branch of the library is located in/on Pine Street.   I think either 'in' or 'on' have the same meaning. But the commentary said that 'be located in' is mainly writing in front of building name and city name.   I don't know what is correct?
115526
I came across a sentence recently:     We shall discuss this matter over a cup of tea.   Why is the preposition over used here ? I first thought that it would be with, but then, we discuss things with somebody and not something. Also, it is usually the practice that we have arguments over a certain topic, so discussion over a cup of tea doesn't sound well reasonable.  Thus, I want to know,    What is the meaning (in plain english) of this senetence, and   Why can't we use the preposition with instead (my reason might be wrong).   Thanks a lot!
4654
I can’t for the life of me figure out where to use a and where to use the — and where there is no article at all. Is there a simple rule of thumb to memorize?   The standard rule you always hear:     “If a person knows which item you are talking about then use "the"   . . . doesn’t clear things up for me, as I have no idea whether or not they know.
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The shops are open only until 5.30. they will be closed by now.   The shops are open only by 5.30. they will be closed by now.  Greetings  Would you kindly tell me the differences that are in the sentences?  I mean the difference between UNTIL 5.30 and by 5.30.  In addition, I wonder the reason why it has been used the tense future, that is  they will be closed by now. !   (I am learning English. would you possibly elaborate your explanations in details readily?)  I think I'll be wait by/until thursday before making a decision.  which one and WHY?    Thank you so much, but my last question:  Are these the acceptable reasons for your previous arguments about that you did not agree with "by 5.30"?, because when we use the following sentence as if the shops are closed twice- for example: once at 3 o'clock and the other one at 7 o'clock or after 5.30  The shops are only open by 5.30. They will be closed by now. ................. As a preposition of time “by” means “on or before”.  She should be here by Sunday.  This means she ought to be here e,g. on Friday or Saturday but definitely not later than Sunday. Use “by” when you refer to a deadline.  “Until” means “up to a particular time but no sooner than that."  The shops are open only until 5.30.  They will not close sooner than 5.30.
94963
Here are three ways to say the same thing. I wonder if there are particular rules regarding to the position of adverb phrases:     Then play those passages over and over again in your memory   Or,     Then play those passages in your memory over and over again   Or,     Then play over and over again those passages in your memory   I think the last is the worst choice but the first twos seem ok. The first is better because "over and over again" is closer to "play" so it is emphasized. Agreed?
29798
When do we use "at" and "in" with "arrive" talking about place, not time?
67781
I sometimes get confused whether to use in or at. For example,  Children were not at school yesterday, because yesterday was a holiday. Children were not in school yesterday, because yesterday was a holiday.  Is there a rule of thumb to not confuse in and at?
121126
We adopt the approach under which the ...   We adopt an approach under which the ...   We consider the scenario where ...   We consider a scenario where ...      Suppose that I say nothing about the approach or the scenario before there corresponding sentences. However, suppose that the scenario is known in the literature.  I am a bit confused about the article usage here since I am explaining/clarifying things about the approach (resp. scenario) after under which (resp. after where)  Question: (a) which one between 1 and 2 is correct ?            (b) which one between 3 and 4 is correct ?
32021
Consider you are in a meeting. The meeting is going to continue for the next several hours. Therefore, some breaks have been devised in order to let people refresh themselves.  Now consider a brief conversation between two guys sitting near each others:     A: Did you notify C that you would be here until 9:00 ?      B: I will call him ........... the next break.   Which one of the prepositions listed below is the best choice?   within during in over     My interpretation:  Using , I can easily rule out "over" and "within" although I have no idea why they are wrong.  Now, the question is what is the difference between "in" and "during" in that context?