A1 English grammar worksheet
Choosing in, on or at for a time or a place, depending on the exact word that comes after it.
12 gap-fill exercises on Prepositions of time and place: in, on, at, the first thing most beginners get wrong in English. Answer in the browser and the rule appears with each answer, or print the PDF and work through it on paper.
This A1 sheet is free on the web. The graded set from A2 to C2 lives in the oqou app, where A1 is part of Pro as well.
Practise it here
After each answer you get the rule, written in English. That is deliberate: the sheets are made to be worked through in the language you are learning.
Exercise 1 of 12
The meeting starts half past nine.
Choose the word that fills the gap.
A1 English grammar worksheet
Print it
The same worksheet as a print-ready A4 PDF, with the answer key on the last page. Free to use in a classroom, and free to share.
Download the PDFPrepositions of time and place: in, on, at
The meeting starts ___ half past nine.
We usually visit my grandparents ___ the weekend.
We're having a barbecue ___ Saturday.
Her birthday party is ___ the fourteenth of June.
The new school year starts ___ September.
My grandparents got married ___ 1965.
Turn left ___ the traffic lights.
I'll meet you ___ the bus stop after work.
She was reading a book ___ the train.
Our flat is ___ the third floor.
My cousin lives ___ Canada.
The keys are ___ my pocket.
Answer key
The meeting starts at half past nine.
Clock times, like half past nine, always take at.
We usually visit my grandparents at the weekend.
In British English, we say at the weekend, not on the weekend.
We're having a barbecue on Saturday.
Days of the week, like Saturday, take on.
Her birthday party is on the fourteenth of June.
Dates, like the fourteenth of June, take on.
The new school year starts in September.
Months, like September, always take the word in.
My grandparents got married in 1965.
Years, like 1965, always take the word in.
Turn left at the traffic lights.
A fixed point, like the traffic lights, takes at.
I'll meet you at the bus stop after work.
A fixed point, like the bus stop, takes at.
She was reading a book on the train.
Trains and buses take on, not in.
Our flat is on the third floor.
Floors of a building take on, not at.
My cousin lives in Canada.
Countries, like Canada, always take the word in.
The keys are in my pocket.
A closed space, like a pocket, takes in.
The rest of the English grammar set
The oqou app carries the full graded set, one worksheet per CEFR level, alongside the reading it is meant to support. Grammar practice is part of Pro.
- A2Past simple and past continuous14 exercisesIn the app
- A2Comparatives and superlatives12 exercisesIn the app
- A2Countable and uncountable: some, any, much, many, a few12 exercisesIn the app
- A2Going to and will12 exercisesIn the app
- A2Adverbs of frequency and word order12 exercisesIn the app
- A2Verb + -ing or verb + to-infinitive12 exercisesIn the app
- B1Present perfect and past simple14 exercisesIn the app
- B1Must, have to, should: obligation and advice12 exercisesIn the app
- B1Relative clauses, defining and non-defining12 exercisesIn the app
- B1Reported speech and backshift12 exercisesIn the app
- B1The passive: present and past simple12 exercisesIn the app
- B1Used to and would for past habits12 exercisesIn the app
- B2The three conditionals16 exercisesIn the app
- B2Modals of deduction: must have, might have, can't have12 exercisesIn the app
- B2Wish, if only and the unreal past12 exercisesIn the app
- B2Passive reporting: it is said that, he is thought to12 exercisesIn the app
- B2Future perfect and future continuous12 exercisesIn the app
- B2Concession and contrast: although, despite, whereas, however12 exercisesIn the app
- C1Inversion and fronting for emphasis14 exercisesIn the app
- C1Cleft sentences: it-clefts and wh-clefts12 exercisesIn the app
- C1Reduced and prepositional relative clauses12 exercisesIn the app
- C1Verb patterns that change meaning: stop, remember, go on, regret12 exercisesIn the app
- C1Alternatives to if: unless, provided that, as long as, otherwise12 exercisesIn the app
- C1Hedging and cautious language12 exercisesIn the app
- C2Participle clauses, ellipsis and nominalisation15 exercisesIn the app
- C2The mandative subjunctive and formal that-clauses12 exercisesIn the app
- C2Register: Latinate verb or phrasal verb12 exercisesIn the app
- C2Modality in formal and legal register: shall, be to, may12 exercisesIn the app
- C2Correlative structures: the more... the more, such... that, no sooner... than12 exercisesIn the app
- C2Reporting and distancing: allege, purport, be said to12 exercisesIn the app
Questions about the worksheets
Are these grammar worksheets really free?
Yes. The A1 worksheet for every language is free on this site, both to practise online and to download as a PDF, with no account and no email. You may print them for a class.
Where are the A2, B1 and higher worksheets?
In the oqou app, one worksheet per CEFR level per language, as part of Pro. A1 is free here on the web and part of Pro in the app, which is a deliberate exception rather than an oversight.
Can I use these with my students?
Yes. Print the PDF, hand it out, keep the answer key. A link back to this page is appreciated but not required.