7.3 Prepositions of place

The basic prepositions of place are in, on and at.

We use in to relate to volumes and closed spaces,e.g.:

She works in an office/a shop/a factory.
(Trabaja en una oficina/una tienda/una fábrica.)

He had his hands in his pockets/the water.
(Tenía las manos en los bolsillos/en el agua.)

There are some tennis courts in the park.
(Hay unas pistas de tenis en el parque.)

We use on to relate to surfaces and lines, e.g.:

There's a fly/picture on the wall/floor/door.
(Hay una mosca/un cuadro en la pared/en tierra/en la puerta.)

Feltham lies on a river/the coast/a main road.
(Feltham se encuentra sobre un río/en la costa/en una carretera principal.)

We use at when the size or volume is unimportant, e.g.:

Mary is at school/work/home
(Mary está en la escuela/en el trabajo/en casa.)

We had lunch at a restaurant.
(Comimos en un restaurante.)
Compare:
It was cool in the restaurant compared with the street outside.
(Se estaba más fresco dentro del restaurante que fuera en la calle.)

Other common prepositions of place are: above, below, over, under, beside, between, behind, in front of, opposite.

Notice the difference between in front of and opposite.

If A is in front of B, then B is behind A.
If A is opposite B, then B is opposite A.

The red car is in front of the bus.
(El coche rojo está delante del autobús.)

The bus is behind the red car.
(El autobús está detrás del coche.)

In St James Square, the Barcelona Town Hall is opposite the Generalitat.
(En la plaza de Sant Jaume, el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona está delante de la Generalitat.)

The Generalitat is opposite the Town Hall.
(La Generalitat está delante del Ayuntamiento.)

Notice also the difference between outside, out and away, e.g.:

Mary's outside. (Not in the building itself but in the garden, car park, etc.)

Mary's out. (Not in the building, but perhaps visiting someone or at a restaurant or in a shop, etc.)

Mary's away. (On a business trip, holiday, etc.)