Prepositions at/in/on – extended meanings

Prepositions at/in/on – extended meanings

A systematic analysis of the occurrence of the prepositions at, in and on in their core usage as indicators of time and place, helps us establish some key meaning concepts which will aid us in identifying and explaining their extended meanings:
at – is a mechanism for denoting the specific, it usually refers to fixed points in time (e.g. clock times) and specific points in space.
on – is a mechanism which usually describes something in relation to a second, often linear dimension, hence it relates to the calendar (days and dates) and surfaces or lines.
in – is a mechanism for describing something in relation to the things that surround it in time or space, hence it relates to periods of time and three-dimensional spaces or containers.

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