Introduction to Spatial Prepositions

Prepositional phrases contain a preposition and a noun phrase.  They begin with a preposition, which is a word that expresses a relationship between nouns or nouns and verbs.  Prepositional phrases can be challenging because they serve many purposes and there are no concrete rules for their use.  However, there are strategies to help you learn and use prepositions and prepositional phrases.

Structure of a prepositional phrase

A prepositional phrase has two main parts: a preposition, and a noun or noun phrase. The best way to demonstrate this is to use examples:

  • Temple University is (in Philadelphia).
  • Philadelphia is a large city (in the northeastern United States).
  • My friends and I live (in an apartment) (on Broad Street).
  • We meet (at the Writing Center) for fun events with Conversation Partners.

As you can see from the examples, a prepositional phrase always starts with a preposition, which is followed by a noun or noun phrase. A noun phrase can include adjectives, articles, and other modifiers, but must always have a noun.

Uses of prepositional phrases

Prepositional phrases have many uses. Here is a list of a few:

  • Modify time and place
  • Modify a noun
  • Show who did something
  • Used with intransitive and prepositional verbs (e.g., I bought a cake for her. I put the keys on the table.)

Core Meanings of in, on, at

The prepositions in, on, and at are particularly confusing because there is no logical reason for their use. One strategy to learn prepositions is to learn core meanings.  Core meanings are abstract ways to understand preposition use.  This means that they are not as easy to use as rules, but once you understand and learn the core meanings, you will be much more successful in using prepositions correctly.

Spatial Core Meanings

First, we should cover the core spatial meanings.

Preposition Dimensionality Locativity Examples Explanation Geography
at 1 dimension
point		 place We met at the library. The library is one point on the campus. Think of a map. intersections

location
address
on 2 dimension
plane		 surface We met on the library The only way to meet on the library is to meet on the roof! The roof is a 2-D surface. streets

mass transit
in 3 dimension
cube		 space We met in the library. In typically refers to a confined space. So inside the library. countries

states

cities

cars

 

You can see from the examples in the chart that changing one word is enough to alter the meaning significantly.  Now that you have an idea of what the core meanings are, here are some examples to illustrate the core meanings.

  • Temple University is in Philadelphia.
  • Philadelphia is a large city in the northeastern United States.
  • My friends and I live in an apartment on Broad Street.
  • We meet at the Writing Center for fun events with Conversation Partners.
  • We’re on 5th and Washington.
  • She lives on Girard Avenue.
  • We rode in the car first, and then got on a bus, train, plane, and boat to get to China.
  • She’s standing in the water.

Water has depth, so we use “in”

  • She’s standing on the ice.

Ice is a surface, so we use “on”

***One problem with core spatial meanings is that spaces and place are understood differently in different cultures.  These definitions are based on ideas of space and place in the United States.[1]  For example, Korean speakers tend to understand

Exercise for spatial in, on, at

Fill in the space with the appropriate preposition. Then explain your reasons.

  1. We met ___ the Laundromat.
  2. She sat ___ the taxi for twenty minutes.
  3. Put the water ___ the bathtub.
  4. First we stayed ___ Oakland, then we went to my parent’s house ___ Mission Street.
  5. The plane will arrive ___ Terminal B.

[1] Tanaka and Matsumoto (1997)