Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
In, on, at, let's talk about it. I forget. Did I put it in the cabinet, on the
shelf, or at the front door? In, on, and at are three little words that are often tricky for
English learners, and maybe they are for you too. But today I have some good news. Today you are
going to test your skills and knowledge of in, on, and at with a fun little test. Fun? Test? Yes.
If you have been watching my lessons or other English content, you have been inputting real
useful English. And our brains are amazing things. Our brains are always trying to sort
out which words go where. Our brains are amazing at recognizing a pattern. The clouds are
dark. It's going to rain. This is a pattern. But I have a little hunch. A hunch is like a
guess. Do you think that these words in, on, and at are tricky for you? These little words,
they're called prepositions. I have a hunch that you know more than you think you do.
These words and concepts seem tricky, but our brains are amazing. You are amazing. Your
brain has already created some patterns using in, on, and at. So I think you are going to do better
on this test than you think you will. Am I right? Am I wrong? Let's find out. Plus, you'll
learn five common fixed phrases using in, on, and at, at the end of this lesson.
And of course, to help you remember everything that you've learned today, I have created
a free PDF worksheet with all of the ideas, rules, concepts, sample sentences. And at the end
of the PDF, you will be able to answer Vanessa's challenge question. You can download this free
PDF worksheet with the link in the description. Before we start with our test, let's review
a few simple rules. Each of the prepositions in, on, and at can be used to talk about space
and time. Let's take a look at some examples so that we can study before the test.
In. I put the medicine in the cabinet, in the afternoon. Here we have
space, in the cabinet, and time, in the afternoon. We use in for an enclosed
space, in the cabinet. And for a general time, usually a time of day, in the morning, in the
afternoon, in the evening, this general time. On. I put my phone on the shelf on Monday.
Here we have space, on the shelf, and time, on Monday. Usually on is with a surface. Sometimes
it's a flat surface. Sometimes it's not. But we talk about on with a surface, on the shelf.
And for time we're talking about a specific day, on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday.
This video is coming out on Friday. And at. Please be at the entrance of the park
at 4:00 PM. We have space, at the entrance, and time, at 4:00 PM. At the entrance of the
park is a specific place, a specific point, at the entrance of the park. And for time, at 4:00
PM, we are talking about a specific time, at 4:00 PM, at 9:00 PM, at 3:00 AM, this specific time.
So we've had a little review here. Don't stress too much about the rules. I want
you to look into your heart as I give you these test sentences. I want you to choose which word
is the best to fill in each of these sentences. Maybe you remember the rules, maybe you
don't. That's okay. Remember those patterns we talked about. Your brain has created some
patterns already using these three words. So let's get started with sentence
number one. Did you find your coat the closet? Did you find your coat in, on, at the
closet? I'll give you three seconds to decide. Did you find your coat in the closet? In is
an enclosed space. The closet is an enclosed space. Did you find your coat in the closet?
Number two. My favorite cafe is the end of this street. My favorite cafe is
in, on, at the end of this street. What do you think? Three, two, one. My
favorite cafe is at the end of this street. Here we're talking about a specific place,
a specific point. At the end of the street is my favorite cafe. How are you doing
so far? Take a deep breath. You got this. All right, let's go to number three.
Oh no. I spilled my coffee my homework. Oh no. I spilled my coffee in, on, at my homework.
Three, two, one. Oh, no. I spilled my coffee on my work. Here we're talking about the surface of
my homework. It also happens to be a flat surface. Like I mentioned, we sometimes use this
for flat surfaces, on my homework. Oh man. Now I'm going to have to explain this to my
teacher. I spilled my coffee on my homework. Number four. I enjoy taking walks early the
morning. I enjoy taking walks early in, on, at the morning. Three, two, one. I enjoy taking
walks early in the morning. Here we are talking about a general time of day. We're not talking
about 9:00 AM. We're talking about a general time, in the morning, in the afternoon. And this is one
of the keys to remembering prepositions, is when you can remember a full phrase, in the morning,
you're not going to need to think about the rules. All right, general time, specific time, time.
No, you don't need to think about that because you know the full phrase. So sentences like this
are great ways to remember these tricky words. In the morning. Let's go to the next question.
Number five. My date will be here 5:15. My date will be here in, on, at 5:15. We're talking
about time here. I'll give you three seconds. My date will be here at 5:15. Hopefully not 5:14.
Hopefully not 5:16, 5:15. Maybe not exactly, but you know what I mean? Here we're talking
about a specific time, 5:15, 6;15, 7:45, at 5:15. All right, let's get to the next one.
Number six. I love to spend summer vacation the mountains. I love to spend summer
vacation in, on, at the mountains. Give you three seconds. Three, two, one.
The best answer for this sentence is I love to spend summer vacation in the mountains.
We're not talking about digging a hole in the mountains and going inside the dirt and the
rocks. No. This would really be an enclosed space, in the closet, in the cabinet. But
sometimes we use the idea of an enclosed space a little bit more loosely. So here we're
talking about being surrounded by the mountains. It's the idea that you're somewhat enclosed
in the warm embrace of the mountains. So sometimes we do use this a little bit more
loosely. Well, you can get the idea here. Number seven, we are having dinner my favorite
restaurant. We're having dinner in, on, at my favorite restaurant. I'll give
you three seconds. Three, two, one. We're having dinner at my favorite restaurant.
This is a specific place, a specific point. At my favorite restaurant. Well, that's where we're
going to be having dinner. We're having dinner at my favorite restaurant, a specific place.
Number eight. I jumped when he tapped me the shoulder. I jumped when he tapped me in, on,
at the shoulder. Three, two, one. I jumped when he tapped me on the shoulder. This is also a little
more loose, but we're talking about the surface of my shoulder, the surface of my skin. When
he tapped me on the shoulder, this is the surface of it. It's not inside my skin. This is
just the surface. He tapped me on the shoulder. How are you doing? We have two more
sentences. Let's go to number nine. Do you have a date Saturday night? Do you have a
date in, on, at Saturday night? Do you remember which one we should use with days like Saturday?
I'll give you three seconds. Three, two, one. Do you have a date on Saturday night? We use
on for a specific day, on Saturday, on Friday, on Tuesday. Do you have a date on Saturday night?
And our final test question before we get to five fixed phrases is using in, on, and at is this. You
can email me contact@speakenglishwithvanessa.com. This is a common phrase we use in business, or
whenever you need to tell someone your email address. So it's a good expression to remember.
You can email me in, on, or at my email address. Three, two, one. You can email me at
contact@speakenglishwithvanessa.com. This is also a more figurative way to use a specific
place. So we said at my favorite restaurant, at the entrance of the park. But this is not a
place you can go. You can't go physically to my email address. So we're going to use this a little
bit more loosely and we can say, you can email me at, this is my specific email address. You can
email me at contact@speakenglishwithvanessa.com. Great. Are you ready for five bonus
fixed phrases that include in, on, or at? These are kind of outside the rules
of what we just talked about, but I want you to look into your heart and to guess which
preposition do you think would be the best fit? Let's look at this sentence. The building is fire. The building is in, on, at fire. What is the
fixed phrase we're looking for here? Three, two, one. The building is on fire. Ah, run.
So here we're using the fixed phrase to be on fire. We can use this in a real way, that there
are flames coming up from the building. So get out of the building. It's on fire. But we can also use
this for more figurative ways. For example, you might say, "My motivation for learning English is
on fire from watching Vanessa's video," or talking about your motivation is on fire. Or we might say,
"I'm on fire for English." This is talking about a more figurative way of talking about fire that of
course there is not fire on you, but we're talking about in your heart. There is an excitement.
There's determination. There's motivation. I'm on fire for English. My motivation is on fire.
And that is another way to use this expression. All right, let's go to the next sentence. Do
you believe love at first sight? Do you believe in, on, at love at first sight? I'll
give you three seconds. Three, two, one. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Here our fixed expression is to believe in something. You can believe in love. You can
believe in peace. You can believe in your ability to learn English. You can believe in
something. And this means you have hope that it will happen. You have high hopes that this
will come true. I believe in love. Wonderful. Question number 13. He is really good juggling.
Juggling is when you throw balls in the air. He is really good in, on, at juggling. I'll
tell you in three, two, one. He is really good at juggling. Here we're going to use the fixed
expression to be good at something. This is used all the time. You might say, "I thought that
I wasn't good at English. And then I found Vanessa's lessons and realized, 'Oh, it's not too
hard. I can do this.'" You can be good at English. Number 14. Do you have this a smaller size? This
is a common expression when you're shopping. Do you have this in, on, or at a smaller size?
Three, two, one. Do you have this in a smaller size? This expression, to be in a size or color is
commonly used when we're shopping and we're trying to find the best thing that we are looking
for. So you might say, "Do you have this in a large? Do you have this in a medium?" Or we
can use it for color. "Do you have this in red? Do you have this in stripes?" Great. This is a
great expression to use when you're shopping. And our final test question. Are
you ready, drum roll, is my date was his phone all night. It was so rude. My date was
in, on, at his phone all night. Such a shame. Three, two, one. My date was on his phone all
night. It was so rude. He's not actually standing on his phone, but instead that means he's using
his phone. And this is a common expression, to be on your phone. Sometimes you could
say this maybe to teenagers. "Hey, get off your phone. You are on your phone all day.
Why are you always on your phone? I wish I wasn't on my phone so much." It doesn't mean that
you're standing on your phone. It just means you're using your phone. So this is a great
fixed expression to know, to be on your phone. So let's do a little review. I'm going to
read all of these sentences one more time and I would like you to try to say them out loud
with me. Do you think you can do this? Of course, you can, because you are good at English.
Let's say all of these sentences together. Did you find your coat in the closet? I
enjoy taking walks early in the morning. I love to spend summer vacation in the mountains.
Do you have this in a smaller size? Do you believe in love at first sight? Oh no. I spilled
coffee on my homework. Do you have a date on Saturday night? I jumped when he tapped
me on the shoulder. The building is on fire. My date was on his phone the whole night. It
was so rude. My favorite cafe is at the end of this street. My date will be here at 5:15. We are
having dinner at my favorite restaurant. You can email me at contact@speakenglishwithvanessa.com.
He is really good at juggling. So how did you do on this test? I hope that it was
better than you imagined, because your brain is amazing. You are amazing. You have been creating
patterns by watching my videos and other English content so that these seemingly tricky words
are maybe actually easier than you thought. Don't forget to help you remember everything
you learned in this lesson, you can download the free PDF worksheets with all of the rules,
sentences, and ideas that we talked about today, and you can answer Vanessa's challenge
question. You can click on the link in the description to download that PDF.
And now I have a little question for you. In the comments, let me know what your score was,
and also, what is something that you are good at? Let us know in the comments. I can't wait to read
to see what you have to say. Make sure you read other people's comments as well to get to know
wonderful people from around the world. Well, thank you so much for learning English with me
and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye.
The next step is to download the free PDF worksheet for this lesson. With this
free PDF, you will master today's lesson and never forget what you have learned. You
can be a confident English speaker. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel
for a free English lesson every Friday. Bye.
