When can I use "in", "on", "at"?

Question

sample sentences:

"Arnold has appeared (in, on) the TV series CSI."

"Arnorld appeared (in, on) TV."

"Meet me (in, on, at) the gym?"

"I'm (in, on) the bus."

I'm always confused when to use these three words.

Answer 1

At, on and in are the main prepositions in English indicating position. And there is some logic for the preference for one of them over the other two in given situations, Generally speaking:
in is used to specify position inside larger areas;
on is used to specify position on a line or continuum;
at is used to specify position in a larger place.
Compare the following:
'They were walking on the beach.'
'They were playing in the sand.'
'They were lying on the warm sand, reading their books.'
In the first example, we imagine people at a certain point on their walk along the beach; in the second example a group of children surrounded by sand and having fun in the sand, and in the third example, older children or adults lying on top of the sand, so on is most appropriate here.
As we can see, use of an appropriate preposition sometimes depends on how you think about it.
. Compare the following:
'I saw it on BBC World, heard about it on the BBC World Service and then read about it in the Guardian Weekly.'
. Compare the following:
'I bumped into him at the supermarket.' (Precise location unspecified)
'I bumped into him at the checkout in the supermarket.' (Precise location specified)
Compare the following:
'There were crowds of people on the streets.'
'In the street where I live there are speed bumps every fifty yards.'
In the first example, we imagine someone surveying the crowds from a distance and in the second example the perspective is from inside the street.

Answer 2

Arnold has appeared ON the TV series CSI.

Arnold has appeared ON TV.

Meet me AT(or in) the gym.

I'm ON the bus.

It's confusing, but it will click and just make sense. For example, you don't literally go IN the television or AT the television, you appear ON it. You are not ON the gym, but rather at or sometimes IN the gym. But IN would mean literally inside the gym, and AT the gym could be anywhere around the gym. Make sense? I hope I was helpful to you.

Answer 3

"Arnold has appeared (in, on) the TV series CSI."
Both are equally correct in this particular sentence.

"Arnorld appeared (in, on) TV."
"On" is the correct choice.

"Meet me (in, on, at) the gym?"
"In" would imply that you wanted someone to meet you inside the gym. "At" just denotes that you want someone to meet you at a specific location.

"I'm (in, on) the bus."
Both are equally correct and have the same meaning in this case.

Answer 4

1. In a TV series, on TV (on the television)
2. On TV
3. In (side ) the gym, at the gym
4. In (side) the bus, on the bus

Answer 5

"In" this sentence there is a dot "on" top of the i and "at" the end of the sentence.

A preposition is a word that links a noun or pronoun with some
other part of the sentence.

Answer 6

See Merriam Webster for more information-

AT - at a party, aim at the target, good at talking, at the wheel, at rest, laughed at my joke, at first, at 28 years old.

IN - in my heart, went in the house, written in pen, left in a hurry, broke in pieces, said in reply, one in five is eligible

ON - lying on bed, picture on the wall, on the floor, on the left, stand on head, feeds on plants, had a knife on him, on saturday, on cue, show on tv, on drugs, on schedule, on one condition, pulled a gun on me, joke's on me, working on it, curse on you, crop died on him, agree on, short on cash

Arnold1: you can use either
Arnold 2: use on
Meet me: use in (location inside) or at (can be inside, but can be location around)
I'm: use either in (being inside) or on (on top of)

Answer 7

1. in-though you could use on also
2. on
3. in (side), at
4. on