Ý CẦN NHỚ

Hình dung nơi chốn: in cho không gian kín, on cho bề mặt và tuyến đi, at cho điểm như cửa, ga và địa chỉ.

Minh họa màu nước hai người bạn trò chuyện bên cà phê dưới nắng
Chút ngữ cảnh giúp nghĩa rõ hơn.

01in: inside something

Use in when you are enclosed or surrounded: in the room, in the box, in Shanghai, in the car. Cities, countries, and rooms are all containers you are inside of. If you can be surrounded by it, in is usually your word.

He lives in Beijing.

in + city / country / room

He lives in Beijing.

Cities and countries are containers: in Beijing, in France.

02on: touching a surface

Use on for surfaces that hold you up or that you touch: on the table, on the wall, on the floor. Streets behave like surfaces too — on Main Street — and so do vehicles you step onto and ride: on the bus, on the train, on the plane, on a bike. Think contact plus support.

The cat is sleeping on the sofa.

on + surface

The cat is sleeping on the sofa.

The sofa surface supports the cat, so use on.

03at: a point on the map

Use at for points: addresses treated as points, entrances, counters, and stations. At 12 Main Street, at the door, at the station, at home, at school — you are naming a spot, not describing the inside of a building. Events work the same way: at a concert, at a meeting.

Addresses show the zoom levels nicely: she lives at 12 Main Street (the point), on Main Street (the line), in Boston (the area). Same person, three framings. Before memorizing one answer, ask how the speaker is picturing the place.

I will wait for you at the entrance.

at + point / entrance

I will wait for you at the entrance.

An entrance is a meeting point, so use at.

04Small cars, big vehicles

Here is the transport split learners ask about most: get in a car or taxi, but get on a bus, train, or plane. Small private cars enclose you, so they take in; large public vehicles are surfaces you board, so they take on. The same logic gives in a taxi but on the subway.

LƯỢT CỦA BẠN

Tạo kết nối.

Đọc tình huống trước khi chọn. Lý do quan trọng như đáp án.

The picture touches the wall surface.
KIỂM TRA NHANH 1

The picture hangs ? the wall.

The picture touches the wall surface.

Chọn giới từ. Khám phá vì sao.

Xem đáp án & giải thích

on · Walls are surfaces: on the wall.

Name the airport as a point.
KIỂM TRA NHANH 2

They arrived ? the airport an hour early.

Name the airport as a point.

Chọn giới từ. Khám phá vì sao.

Xem đáp án & giải thích

at · Airports as points take at; the city would take in.

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