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Is it in or on? Is it for or from? Is it by or with? English prepositions can be so confusing. Even my most advanced students often tell me that prepositions are their biggest struggle. As many of you know, I teach the American accent to professionals who are quite fluent in English, and they use English every day at work, but they still struggle with using the correct preposition.

Prepositions don't always follow clear rules, and they don't often translate directly from your native language. And some prepositions don't make any sense. For example, why do we say Christmas is in December, but Christmas is on December 25th? Why do we say in Los Angeles, but at the post office?

I will teach you some of the most common mistakes. I will start with some easier rules, and then later in the video, the rules and the patterns will get more advanced. And I will give you a chance to test yourself as we go. Okay, let's get started.

Part 1: Place Prepositions ("In" vs. "At")

Let's start with an easy one. Let's look at in versus at when we're talking about places. Why do we say in New York, but at the airport?

We use in for larger areas. For example, I live in Los Angeles. She works in New York. We also use in for enclosed spaces. They are in the room. They're inside the room. He's in the building.

And we use at for specific locations, especially when we think of being at a place for an activity or for a purpose. For example, I'm at the market. I'm there to do the shopping. He's at the bus stop. They're at the restaurant.

Let's compare these two examples. What is the difference in meaning?

Let's meet at the restaurant.

Let's meet in the restaurant.

If I say at the restaurant, I mean at that location. We're going there to eat. That's an activity. However, I'm not specifying if we're going to meet in front of the restaurant or in the parking lot or inside the restaurant. But, if I say, let's meet in the restaurant, that means inside the restaurant, not outside, inside the physical building.

Here's another example. I saw her when I was at the market. I was there shopping. I can't talk right now. I'm in the market, but I will call you back as soon as I get out. You see the difference?

Part 2: Addresses ("On" vs. "At")

Let's look at another confusing prepositions pattern. Let's look at on and at with addresses.

When we mention just the name of the street, we say on. She lives on Main Street. My office is on Washington Boulevard. But, when we add the number of the street, we use at. She lives at 537 Main Street. The office is at 1356 Washington Boulevard. So, on if you just say the name of the street, and at if you give the full address with the number.

I remember there used to be a billboard, an advertisement for a car dealership in Los Angeles. It said, "in Santa Monica, on Santa Monica." Do you understand that? Native speakers do. It means that it's in the city of Santa Mon...