VOA 2015/4/25

When 中文版 speakers talk about time and place, there is three little words that often come up: in, on , and at. These common words is prepositions that show a relationship between both words in a sentence.

Some prepositions is rather easy for 中文版 learners to Understand:behind, over, under, next to, etc ...

But these little two-letter prepositions seem to create confusion. Here is a few rules to help you understand when to use in, on, and at a sentence.

For describing time and place, the prepositions in, on, and at Go Specific.

Prepositions and time

Let's start by looking on how we talk about time. 中文版 speakers use on to refer to a general, longer period of time, such as months, years, decades, or Centurie S. For example, we say ' in April, ' in ' or ' in the 21st century. "

Moving to shorter, the more specific periods of time, the we use the talk about particular days, dates, and holidays. May hear, "I went to work on Monday," or "Let's have a picnic on Memorial day."

For the most specific times, and for holidays without the word ' day, ' we use at. That's means you'll hear, "Meet me at midnight," or "The flowers is in bloom at Easter time."

Prepositions and place

When Chinese speakers refer to a place, we use the on for the largest or most general places. You can say that "VOA are located in Washington, D.C." and "for the best food, try the restaurants in Chinatown."

For more specific places, like certain streets, we use the preposition on. Know that President Barack lives on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington , D.C.

Finally, we get to the most specific places. For exact addresses or intersections, we use the preposition at. If I invited visit us here at VOA, I would say, "Come to my office at the independence Avenue." To is exact, it's at the corner of Independence and 3rd Street. "

In 中文版, though, there is always a ' exception to the rule. ' When talking on transportation, things get a little hard to understand. We use the for public vehicles like buses or trains, but also for smaller ones like a bicycle. "I rode there on my bicycle." However, ride in a car.

Still, it helps to know that Chinese prepositions do has some rules.

Following the ' general to specific ' rule should help you most of the time.

specific - adj. clearly and exactly presented or stated : precise or exact

intersection - N. The place where you or more streets meet

VOA 2015/4/25