Grammar practice · Skill 2 of 14

Prepositions Exercises: In, On, At and More

Prepositions are small words such as in, on, at and for. Most of them cannot be worked out by logic: they are vocabulary, so you get them right by learning whole chunks like depend on. Seven rules and 40 exercises below target the ones students get wrong most often.

40 questions 8 levels of 5 7 rules Level 1 free

3 in 4

What we measured

of the 8,000 most recent writing responses we evaluated had at least one preposition corrected in their feedback.

How do you choose the right preposition?

Learn each word together with its preposition

Most prepositions do not follow logic. Nothing in the meaning tells you why it is depend on but interested in, so the only reliable method is to treat the pair as one piece of vocabulary. Whenever you learn a verb, adjective or noun, learn the small word that comes after it: rely on, listen to, wait for, good at, responsible for, a reason for, an increase in.

Right:The schedule depends on the weather.
Right:She is interested in marine biology.
Right:We arrived at the lab early.

Not:Your grade depends of three essays.Instead:Your grade depends on three essays.
Not:I am interested on chemistry.Instead:I am interested in chemistry.
Not:We arrived to the airport at six.Instead:We arrived at the airport at six.

Some verbs take no preposition at all

Several common verbs go straight to their object, and adding a preposition is one of the most frequent mistakes in student writing. Discuss, mention, emphasize, contact, attend, answer, enter and reach all work this way. The trap is that a related word may need one: we discuss a plan, but we talk about it. Tell also goes straight to a person, while say needs to: tell me, say to me.

Right:We discussed the novel in class.
Right:Please contact the IT help desk.
Right:The speaker emphasized the main risk.

Not:We discussed about the results.Instead:We discussed the results.
Not:The author emphasizes on teamwork.Instead:The author emphasizes teamwork.
Not:She told to me the news.Instead:She told me the news.

In, on, at for time: big, medium, small

Use in for long periods: months, years, seasons and parts of the day (in May, in 2025, in the fall, in the morning). Use on for one day or date (on Monday, on May 3, on my birthday). Use at for a point on the clock (at 9:30, at noon). Two phrases break the pattern, so memorize them: at night, and on the weekend in American English.

Right:The semester ends in May.
Right:Our lab meets on Thursdays.
Right:The seminar starts at 4:15.
Right:The quad is quiet at night.

Not:My birthday is at June.Instead:My birthday is in June.
Not:We have a quiz in Monday.Instead:We have a quiz on Monday.
Not:Class begins on 8:00.Instead:Class begins at 8:00.

In, on, at for place: space, surface, point

Use in for a space with limits, including cities and countries: in the room, in Chicago, in Canada. Use on for a surface or a line: on the wall, on the second floor, on Main Street, on the website. Use at for a specific point or a place where something happens: at the bus stop, at the front desk, at 25 Oak Street. Learn on campus and in class as fixed phrases.

Right:She lives in Seattle.
Right:The notice is on the bulletin board.
Right:I will wait at the bus stop.
Right:Most freshmen live on campus.

Not:He studies at Canada.Instead:He studies in Canada.
Not:My room is in the third floor.Instead:My room is on the third floor.
Not:I live in campus.Instead:I live on campus.

By for a deadline, until for a stretch of time

Use by when something must happen no later than a certain time. It goes with one-time actions such as submit, finish and arrive. Use until when something keeps going and stops at that time: stay, wait, work. The same thinking separates for and during. For tells how long (for three weeks), and during tells when (during the break). To say how long, do not write during three weeks.

Right:Send me your draft by Monday.
Right:I will stay in the lab until six.
Right:We talked for an hour during lunch.

Not:Finish the form until Friday.Instead:Finish the form by Friday.
Not:I will wait here by 5:00.Instead:I will wait here until 5:00.
Not:She studied during two hours.Instead:She studied for two hours.

Academic phrases are fixed, so do not rebuild them

Formal phrases are complete units, and changing one small word breaks them. Learn them exactly: according to, in addition to, because of, due to, instead of, as a result. "In the result" and "according with" are not English. The same goes for phrases you need in every email: a student in your class, a quiz that counts for 10 percent of the grade. Note that because needs a subject and a verb, while because of needs a noun.

Right:According to the survey, most students work part-time.
Right:As a result, the deadline moved to Monday.
Right:The picnic moved indoors because of the rain.
Right:I am a student in your Monday seminar.

Not:In the result, many students changed majors.Instead:As a result, many students changed majors.
Not:According with the article, sleep matters.Instead:According to the article, sleep matters.
Not:She stayed home because of she was sick.Instead:She stayed home because she was sick.

After a preposition, use a noun or an -ing verb

A preposition is followed by a noun, a pronoun or a verb ending in -ing, not by the plain verb. That is why we write thanks for helping, interested in joining and before leaving. The word to causes the most trouble, because it is sometimes a preposition rather than part of a verb. After look forward to and in addition to, you still need -ing.

Right:Thank you for reading my draft.
Right:I am interested in joining the debate club.
Right:I look forward to meeting you.

Not:I look forward to see you in class.Instead:I look forward to seeing you in class.
Not:She left without say goodbye.Instead:She left without saying goodbye.
Not:He is good at explain hard ideas.Instead:He is good at explaining hard ideas.

Where this costs you marks on the TOEFL

The TOEFL has no separate grammar section, so prepositions cost you marks inside Writing and Speaking. They show first in Write an Email, because the standard phrases are full of them: a student in your Tuesday class, I am writing to ask about, I look forward to hearing from you. A slip there lands in the first or last line, where a reader notices it. In the Academic Discussion you link ideas with according to, because of and as a result, so one wrong word breaks the phrase you are relying on. In the 10 sentence-building items, you have to see where each small word belongs. One slip is minor. A steady pattern makes your control of English look limited.

If your first language is...

First language	What to watch for
Hindi and Urdu speakers	These languages put such words after the noun, and one word can do several jobs: par covers both on and at, and se covers from, with, by and since. English makes you choose where your language does not, so learn each English pair as new vocabulary instead of translating it.
Spanish and Portuguese speakers	Spanish en and Portuguese em cover in, on and at, so the English choice can feel random. Direct translation is the other trap: depender de becomes depend of, and Spanish llegar a becomes arrive to. English says depend on and arrive at.
Arabic, Russian, Japanese and Korean speakers	Your language uses one main word for most time expressions: fi in Arabic, v in Russian, ni in Japanese, e in Korean. English divides that job into at, on and in, so in Monday can feel natural. Use the big, medium, small picture from the time rule and check each one.
Chinese speakers	Time words in Chinese usually stand alone, so on Monday or in May can lose the first word in English. Verbs such as listen and wait also take their object directly in Chinese, which is why listen music and wait you appear. In English you listen to music and wait for someone.

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Prepositions exercises: Level 1 with answers

Try these before you open an answer. Each one explains why, not only what.

My biology class starts _____ 9:30. (in / on / at)
Show the answer
at
A clock time is the smallest piece of time, a single point, so it takes at. Compare on Monday and in May.
The campus bookstore is closed _____ Sundays. (in / on / at)
Show the answer
on
Days and dates take on. The plural Sundays simply means every Sunday.
Find the mistake: My sister graduated on May and started work in June.
Show the answer
My sister graduated in May and started work in June.
A month is a long period, so it takes in. Save on for one particular day, such as on May 12.
The review session starts at 7:00 _____ the evening.
Show the answer
in
Parts of the day take in: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. The one exception to learn is at night.
Put in order, with one piece left over: Our final exam is [noon / on / in / at / Friday].
Show the answer
Our final exam is on Friday at noon.
A day takes on and a clock time takes at. The two phrases can change places, but their prepositions cannot.

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FAQ

Common questions

What are prepositions in English grammar?

Prepositions are short words such as in, on, at, by, for, to and with. They link a noun or pronoun to the rest of the sentence, usually to show place, time or a relationship: at the library, on Monday, a letter from my advisor. Many also form fixed pairs with verbs and adjectives, such as rely on and proud of.

How do I know which preposition to use?

For time and place, there are patterns you can learn, such as at for clock times. For nearly everything else, there is no logic to follow: the preposition simply belongs to the word before it. So do not guess from meaning. Learn pairs such as rely on and good at from real sentences, and check a learner's dictionary when you are unsure.

What is the difference between in, on and at?

For time, think of size: in covers long periods (in June), on covers one day (on Friday), and at covers one moment (at 3:00). For place, in means inside a space or a city (in Boston), on means touching a surface or a line (on the wall), and at means a specific point (at the door).

Is it wrong to end a sentence with a preposition?

No. "Which dorm do you live in?" and "That is the book I was looking for" are natural, correct English. Moving the preposition forward, as in "In which dorm do you live?", is also correct, but it sounds very formal. The ban you may have been taught is not a real rule of English, so choose whichever sounds natural in your sentence.

Is there a preposition test on the TOEFL?

No. The TOEFL iBT has no separate grammar section, so nothing on it is called a preposition test. Prepositions count inside Writing and Speaking, as part of your overall control of language. A short prepositions quiz is still useful practice, because it shows you which pairs you get wrong, and those are the ones that will appear in your email and discussion answers.

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