How to Use the Prepositions IN, AT, BY and ON When Talking About a Place - An English Grammar Lesson

So am I in the tree, on the tree,

at the tree or by the tree?

Those four prepositions when you are learning English

can be extremely difficult and very hard to understand.

So in this English lesson,

I'll try to make it all crystal clear for you.

I'll try to make it as easy

for you to understand as possible.

(calm music)

Well, hey, welcome to this English lesson

about the prepositions in, at, by and on

and I'll even talk about the preposition under

every once in a while if it makes sense.

Before we get started though,

don't forget to click that red Subscribe button

if you are new here and give me a thumbs up

if this video helps you learn

just a little bit more English.

So you saw that I was in a tree.

When we talk about a place like a tree

and when I'm talking about myself,

let's actually imagine for this lesson

that we're always meeting someone somewhere.

So let's say in this first example,

we are going to meet by a tree.

So let's look at how we would use

each of those prepositions.

If I said to you, I'd like to meet you in a tree,

it would literally mean that I would climb a tree

and I would be in the tree, okay?

So if I said to you, hey,

can you meet me tomorrow in the tree by the house,

it would literally mean that we are going to climb the tree

and we are going to meet each other in the tree

just like you can see

that I am up in a tree in the video beside me.

So we don't use the word in a tree very often

unless you're a kid.

If I say that I would like to meet you

at the tree by the house or by the tree by the house,

those mean the same thing in this case, okay?

So if I say, hey, let's meet by the tree

or let's meet at the tree, we might be under the tree,

we might be close to the tree,

we might be in the shade, we might be out of the shade

but we're generally just meeting somewhere

close to the tree.

So if I say, hey, let's meet by the tree

or let's meet at the tree, that's what I mean.

We would never say let's meet on the tree.

If we were to meet on a tree,

we would literally be way up high

on the very top of the tree.

The only example I can think of

of using the preposition on when talking about a tree

is that we might put something on a tree.

You might put a sign on a tree for instance.

So we definitely wouldn't meet on a tree but again,

if we meet in a tree, we are literally in it.

If we meet by or at the tree, we are close to it.

We might be in the shade, we might not be

and we would not say ever that we are on a tree

but we might put something on a tree.

Of course, this is one of the times

we can use the preposition under.

We might meet under the tree

and often that might be the one you use the most

especially during hot weather.

Hey, I'll meet you under the tree by the house

because then we can talk while we stand in the shade.

So let's imagine you're at the mall

and you're shopping with someone but you're done shopping.

So you decide that you are going to go to the van

or to the car.

You can tell the person where you're gonna meet them

in a number of ways.

If I was shopping with Jen, I could say,

hey, I'm done shopping, I'm going to go to the van

and I'm gonna wait in the van for you.

That would mean I'm actually in the van, okay?

If I say, I'm going to wait in the van,

I would be sitting in the van.

I would probably be checking my watch once in a while

and wondering just how much longer Jen is going to shop for.

If I say I'm going to wait at the van or by the van,

that would mean I'm not inside if I use the word by.

If I use the word at, I might be outside the van

but I might be inside the van.

So if I say to Jen, hey, I'll wait for you by the van,

I will be standing outside of it.

If I say to Jen, I'll wait for you at the van.

I'll be standing outside of it

or I could actually be sitting inside of it

and then I probably would never say to Jen

I'll meet you on the van.

If I was on the van, I would physically be on top of my van

which I don't do very often.

I think I've only done it once in my life

and I think you're seeing the video of it right now.

So once again, if I say to Jen, I'll meet you in the van,

it means I will be sitting in the van waiting for her.

If I say, I will meet you at the van,

I might be outside the van, I might be inside of it.

If I say, I will meet you by the van,

I will definitely be outside the van

and if I say, I'll meet you on the van,

yeah, that would be strange but it would mean

I would be sitting or laying on top of the van

and then I would never say

anything like I'll meet you under the van

because first of all, I don't fit

and it's kind of dark and scary down there, don't you think?

For this next example,

you'll need to imagine this building behind me is a store.

When we say that we will meet someone in a store,

it means that we were actually inside the store.

We've come up to the front of the store,

we have gone through the doorway and we are in the store.

So if I say to Jen, hey,

I know you're not done shopping in this store,

I'm going to go to the next store

and I will meet you in the store,

that means when she comes to that store,

I will be inside shopping.

If I say, I will meet her at the store,

I might be waiting for her outside the store,

I might be waiting for her inside the store.

When you say that you are at a store,

it can mean that you are simply out front

or that you are inside.

When you buy something,

you could say that you got it at a certain store, okay?

So you could say, hey, the other day I was shopping

and I bought a T-shirt at Walmart.

Excellent use of the preposition at

but when you say you're going to meet someone,

you could say that you're going to meet them at the store

and you're either inside or outside.

If I said, Jen, I will meet you by the store,

that means I would be outside the store,

probably right outside the front entrance waiting for her.

So and then again, you would never meet someone on a store

because if you met someone on a store,

it would mean that you're way up there on the roof.

Maybe that's where you meet when you go to a store.

Maybe they have certain things on the roof.

In Canada, you generally don't go on the roof of a store.

So you would never meet someone on a store.

So again, let me review.

When you meet someone in a store, you are inside it.

When you meet someone at a store,

you might be outside the store but you might be in the store

but you're definitely close to the store.

You're either close to it or you're in it.

When you meet someone by a store,

you're right out front usually.

So if I said to Jen, I'll meet you by Walmart,

it would mean that I would go to the entrance of Walmart

and I would wait for her there

and then generally you don't meet people on a store.

(calm music)

Well, hey, thanks so much

for watching this English lesson

about the prepositions in, on, at and by

and sometimes I even talked about the preposition under.

I hope you were able to understand

everything that I was explaining.

I hope this English lesson will help you in the future

as you continue to speak English.

I'm Bob the Canadian.

Thank you so much for watching.

If you're new here,

don't forget to click that red Subscribe button over there.

Give me a thumbs up

if this video helped you learn a little bit of English

and if you have the time,

why don't you stick around and watch another video?

(calm music)