Language/English/Vocabulary/How-to-use-ON,-AT-and-IN

ON

to describe two or more objects contacting/touching each other.

• The painting is on the wall = the painting and the wall are contacting/touching each other.

AT

for a specific location.

• I’m at home = my specific location is ”home”.

IN

something/someone is surrounded by something.

• I am in the room = the walls of the room surround me.

• She is in London = the buildings and other features of London such as streets and The Thames River surround her.

Use AT or IN

Sometimes, it’s possible to use more than one:

• e.g. I’m at the sea = my location is the seaside.

• I’m in the sea = I’m swimming. There is seawater surrounding me.

or

• I’m at Central Square = my location is a place called "Central Square".

• I’m in Central Square = The features of the location "Central Square" surround me such as lawns, trees and park benches.

NB: British English tends to use "at Central Square" more often whereas "in Central Square" is more frequently used when speaking American English.

Why? My observations as a neutral Australian are that location is more important for British English speakers while defining the surroundings is more for Americans.

Use ON or IN

Again, there can be more than one possibility,

• e.g. I’m lying on the sand = my back and the sand are touching. This is the only surface that is touching. The sand does not surround me.

• I’m lying in the sand = Sand surrounds my body. There is sand surrounding/touching my back and stomach, my hands and my legs.

or                        

• I’m on the street = the emphasis is - my feet are touching the street surface and I'm standing.
• I’m in the street  = The street is the street surface + surrounding buildings and I'm there.                     

What I've noticed as a native English speaker is that people from the city more often use "in the street" and rural people "on the street". This applies to British, American and even Australian English speakers. My theory for this - for country areas, streets of small towns are not surrounded so much by buildings, so "on" is a more logical preposition to use than "in" for most rural people.

For "road", the preposition is almost always "on", e.g.

• Our cat was on the road. I was worried about cars because cats don't really have 9 lives.

It makes sense to use "on" with "road". Roads are generally wider than streets and further from buildings and other features. So, you are not so "surrounded" by things when you are there.         

Both British and American English speakers use "at" - and not "on" or "in" - when talking about a specific address, e.g.

• I live at 29 Augustian Street.

"at" is the logical choice - a street address is a very specific location.

Use ON, AT or IN

It’s possible to use all three prepositions at once:

• My carpet is on the floor in the living room at my parents’ place
  • my carpet and the floor touch each other
  • the walls of the living room surround my carpet and the wall
  • my carpet, the floor and the living room have the location ”my parents’ place”.

Author

https://polyglotclub.com/member/AussieInBg

Source

https://polyglotclub.com/language/english/question/35312