Learn how to use the prepositions "at," "on," and "in" (in relation to place)
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Going to a Conference in the United States. John Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Erin. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the prepositions “at”, “on” and “in”, in relation to place. The conversation takes place in the office. |
| Becky: It's between Sean and Rachel. |
| John: The speakers are co-workers, so they will use informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Sean: The national conference is tomorrow. |
| Rachel: Yes, it will be held in New York. |
| Sean: Do you know where? |
| Rachel: It's at the Sheraton Hotel. |
| Sean: The Sheraton on 7th Avenue? |
| Rachel: Yes, that's it. Have you been there before? |
| Sean: I stayed there on vacation once. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Sean: The national conference is tomorrow. |
| Rachel: Yes, it will be held in New York. |
| Sean: Do you know where? |
| Rachel: It's at the Sheraton Hotel. |
| Sean: The Sheraton on 7th Avenue? |
| Rachel: Yes, that's it. Have you been there before? |
| Sean: I stayed there on vacation once. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Sean and Rachel have a conference to attend. |
| Becky: Yeah, sounds like it will be a work conference. |
| John: At least it’s in a good hotel. |
| Becky: Right! I have friends that are always traveling for work conferences. |
| John: Yeah, I guess that some people have to go to a lot of conferences for their jobs. It’s a good place to find out more information or new ways of working. |
| Becky: You can also meet people from other companies and do some networking. |
| John: That’s especially true if it’s a national conference and people travel from all over the country. The company might even pay for your hotel stay. |
| Becky: Those are the best conferences! Nice hotel, free food... |
| John: You make it sound like conferences are awesome. |
| Becky: They can be, but sometimes you have to do some research before. |
| John: Yeah, sometimes you have information to read through or may even have to give a talk. |
| Becky: Those are the worst conferences! |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Becky: national [natural native speed] |
| John: relating to an entire country |
| Becky: national[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: national [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: tomorrow [natural native speed] |
| John: the day after today |
| Becky: tomorrow[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: tomorrow [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: to hold [natural native speed] |
| John: to arrange and take part in a meeting or event |
| Becky: to hold[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to hold [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: to know [natural native speed] |
| John: to be aware of something |
| Becky: to know[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to know [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: hotel [natural native speed] |
| John: a place to stay while on vacation |
| Becky: hotel[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: hotel [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: avenue [natural native speed] |
| John: a road or street in a town |
| Becky: avenue[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: avenue [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: before [natural native speed] |
| John: the time preceding |
| Becky: before[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: before [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: to stay [natural native speed] |
| John: to visit, to remain somewhere |
| Becky: to stay[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to stay [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Becky: vacation [natural native speed] |
| John: leisure trip, trip taken only for enjoyment |
| Becky: vacation[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: vacation [natural native speed] |
| John: And last.. |
| Becky: once [natural native speed] |
| John: one time |
| Becky: once[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: once [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Becky: national... |
| John: meaning "relating to an entire country." |
| John: What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: It’s an adjective you use to describe something that is common to an entire country. |
| John: I often hear it used in sports. |
| Becky: That’s right. If there is a sporting event that involves teams or athletes from all over the US, it will be a national championship. |
| John: But it isn’t only used for the United States, right? |
| Becky: No. A national championship in Canada, for example, would have teams and athletes from all over Canada taking part. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “He will be delivering a speech at the national conference next week.” |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: To hold... |
| John: meaning "to arrange and take part in a meeting or event." |
| John: What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: You can use this verb to talk about organizing an event or party. So if we say “John is holding a party”... |
| John: ...it means that John is organizing the party. |
| Becky: You can use “to hold” in both informal and formal language, but there are some other verbs you can use informally. Actually, you probably use these verbs more often than “hold.” |
| John: What verbs are these? |
| Becky: You can say “throw a party” or “have a party.” “Hold” is used for more formal events. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say.. The company is holding a conference next week. |
| John: .. which means "the company is organizing a conference for next week". Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “at”, “on” and “in,” in relation to place. We looked at these prepositions in lesson one, but when talking about time. |
| Becky: Right. We learned that you use “at” for time, “on” for days and “in” for months and periods of time. |
| John: But these three prepositions can also be used for place and location. I’m not sure if that’s convenient or confusing. |
| Becky: Hopefully convenient! |
| John: Let’s start by looking at “in.” |
| Becky: You can use “in” for enclosed spaces, such as a room, and also countries. “In” goes before the place and sometimes we need an article. |
| John: So we would say “in the bedroom” or “in France.” |
| Becky: An example sentence is “He always sings in the car.” |
| John: I’ll give another example: “I thought that I put my credit card in my wallet before I left home, but it isn’t there.” |
| Becky: Yeah, things such as a box, wallet, or bag are also enclosed spaces, so they need “in.” |
| John: Next, we’ll look at “at.” |
| Becky: We use “at” for a physical point. So if you’re talking about meeting “at the post office,” it would mean that the post office is the meeting point. But that doesn’t necessarily mean inside the post office. |
| John: If it was inside, we’d say “in the post office.” |
| Becky: That’s right. We can say “There isn’t an ATM at the train station...” |
| John: Sometimes people may use “in” instead of “at.” This is because they are talking about being inside of the train station building. But if you stick to this rule and use “at”, you won’t be wrong. |
| Becky: There is one big exception that we need to point out though. We never say “in home,” it’s always “at home.” |
| John: Right. “He’s studying in home” sounds weird. We say “he’s studying at home.” |
| Becky: Don’t forget that one! |
| John: Finally for this lesson, is “on.” |
| Becky: We use “on” for surfaces, such as “on the table” or “on the wall.” |
| John: For example, “The book is on the table.” or “Are there any vegetarian dishes on the menu?” |
| Becky: There is a big exception to this one too, that often tricks people. |
| John: I think I know what you mean... |
| Becky: If you are on public transport, like a bus or a train, you use “on.” For example, “On the bus, on the train…” |
| John: You might think that it should be “in”, as it’s an enclosed space, but no, use “on!” |
| Becky: We also use “on” for riding animals and bikes. |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Becky: Bye! |
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