Appearance
Unit 124 — in , at, on (position) 2
A. in
We say that somebody/something is:
- in a line, in a row, in a queue
- in a picture, in a photo(graph)
- in a newspaper, in a magazine, in a book
- in an office, in a department
- in the sky, in the world
- in the country (= not in a town)
Examples
- When I go to the cinema, I like to sit in the front row.
- Amy works in the sales department.
- Who is the woman in that picture?
- Do you live in a city or in the country?
- It’s a lovely day. There isn’t a cloud in the sky.
- They’re standing in a row.
B. on
We say that somebody/something is:
1. on the left / on the right
- on the left
- on the right
- on the left-hand side
- on the right-hand side
Example:
- Do you drive on the left or on the right in your country?
2. on + floor
We say:
- on the ground floor
- on the first floor
- on the second floor
etc.
Example:
- Our apartment is on the second floor of the building.
3. on + map / menu / list / page / website
We say:
- on a map
- on a menu
- on a list
- on a page
- on a website
Examples:
- Here’s the shopping list. Don’t buy anything that’s not on the list.
- You’ll find the information you need on our website.
4. on + river / road / coast
We say that a place is:
- on a river
- on a road
- on the coast
Examples:
- Vienna is on the (river) Danube.
- The town where you live – is it on the coast or is it inland?
5. on the way
We say on the way (= from one place to another):
- We stopped at a shop on the way home.
C. at the top / at the bottom / at the end
We say:
- at the top (of ...)
- at the bottom (of ...)
- at the end (of ...)
Examples:
- Write your name at the top of the page.
- Jane lives at the other end of the street.
For a page:
- at the top of the page
- at the bottom of the page
D. in the front / in the back / at the front / at the back / on the front / on the back
1. in the front / in the back of a car
We say:
- in the front of a car
- in the back of a car
Example:
- I was in the back (of the car) when we had the accident.
2. at the front / at the back
For a building / theatre / group of people etc., we say:
- at the front
- at the back
Examples:
- The garden is at the back of the house.
- Let’s sit at the front (of the cinema).
- We were at the back, so we couldn’t see very well.
3. on the front / on the back
For an envelope / a piece of paper etc., we say:
- on the front
- on the back
Example:
- I wrote the date on the back of the photo.
E. in the corner / at the corner / on the corner
1. in the corner of a room
We say:
- in the corner of a room
Example:
- The TV is in the corner of the room.
2. at the corner / on the corner of a street
We say:
- at the corner of a street
- on the corner of a street
Example:
- There is a small shop at the corner (of the street).
or:
- There is a small shop on the corner (of the street).
1. in 的常见固定搭配
这一单元进一步扩展了 in = 在某个空间、范围、群体之中 的概念。
| 表达 | 含义 |
|---|---|
| in a line | 在一条队伍中 |
| in a row | 排成一排 |
| in a queue | 在队伍中 |
| in a picture | 在图片中 |
| in a photo | 在照片中 |
| in a newspaper | 在报纸中 |
| in a magazine | 在杂志中 |
| in a book | 在书中 |
| in an office | 在办公室里 |
| in a department | 在某个部门 |
| in the sky | 在天空中 |
| in the world | 在世界上 |
| in the country | 在乡下 |
这里仍然可以使用 Unit 123 的核心思维：
in = inside / within
也就是：
处于一个空间、范围或群体之中。
2. 为什么是 in a picture？
例如：
Who is the woman in that picture?
这里不是说这个女人真的站在“图片内部”。
而是把 picture 看成一个：
视觉范围 / 画面范围
所以：
in the picture = 在画面中
同理：
in the photoin the newspaperin the book
都可以理解成：
在某个内容范围之中
3. on 的常见扩展
Unit 123 中我们学习：
on = surface
但 on 不只是表示物理表面。
它还可以扩展为：
依附于某个平面、媒介、路线或位置系统
例如：
on a mapon a pageon a liston a website
可以理解为信息：
呈现在某个载体上
例如：
The information is on our website.
信息在我们的网站上。
4. on the left / on the right
表示左右位置时使用：
on the left
on the right
例如：
The supermarket is on the left.
超市在左边。
The bank is on the right.
银行在右边。
还可以说：
on the left-hand side
on the right-hand side
5. 楼层为什么使用 on？
英语中楼层通常使用：
on + floor
例如：
on the ground floor
on the first floor
on the second floor
所以：
My office is on the third floor.
我的办公室在三楼。
可以把楼层想象成：
一层一层的水平面
因此使用 on。
6. on a river / on a road / on the coast
表示一个地方位于某条河流、道路或海岸沿线时，也经常使用 on：
Shanghai is on the Huangpu River.
The hotel is on the coast.
The village is on this road.
这里的 on 可以理解成：
沿着 / 位于……线上
7. on the way
这是一个非常常见的固定表达：
on the way
表示：
在去某个地方的途中
例如：
I bought some coffee on the way to work.
我上班途中买了一些咖啡。
I stopped at a supermarket on the way home.
我回家途中在一家超市停了一下。
注意：
on the way home
通常不说：
on the way to home
因为 home 在这种结构中不需要 to。
8. at the top / bottom / end
表示一个区域或物体的某个具体位置时，可以使用：
at
例如：
at the top of the page
页面顶部。
at the bottom of the page
页面底部。
at the end of the street
街道尽头。
这里仍然符合：
at = point / position
也就是：
把 top / bottom / end 看成一个具体位置点。
9. in the front / at the front / on the front
这三个非常容易混淆。
in the front / in the back
主要表示：
在某个封闭空间内部的前部 / 后部
典型例子是汽车：
I sat in the front of the car.
我坐在汽车前面的位置。
My children sat in the back of the car.
我的孩子们坐在汽车后排。
核心：
in = inside
at the front / at the back
表示：
某个地方、建筑、群体的前端 / 后端位置
例如：
Let’s sit at the front of the cinema.
我们坐电影院前面吧。
We were at the back.
我们当时在后面。
核心：
at = position
on the front / on the back
表示：
某个物体的正面 / 背面
例如：
Write your name on the back of the paper.
把你的名字写在纸的背面。
There is a picture on the front of the book.
书的正面有一张图片。
核心：
on = surface
10. front / back 的介词思维
可以直接这样区分：
| 表达 | 核心概念 | 例子 |
|---|---|---|
| in the front/back | 内部区域 | in the back of the car |
| at the front/back | 前后位置 | at the front of the cinema |
| on the front/back | 正面/背面表面 | on the back of the photo |
所以还是 Unit 123 的三个模型：
in → inside
at → point
on → surface
11. in the corner vs at/on the corner
这是本单元另一个非常重要的区别。
in the corner
用于：
房间等内部空间的角落
例如：
The TV is in the corner of the room.
电视在房间的角落里。
为什么？
因为这个 corner 是：
房间内部的一部分
所以使用：
in
at / on the corner
用于：
街道的拐角处
例如：
There’s a coffee shop at the corner of the street.
街角有一家咖啡店。
也可以说：
There’s a coffee shop on the corner.
街角有一家咖啡店。
12. corner 的核心区别
房间内部
in the corner
想象：
📦 房间是一个容器，东西位于容器的角落。
街道拐角
at the corner
想象：
📍 两条街相交形成一个位置点。
建筑位于街角
也常说：
on the corner
想象：
建筑位于这个街角位置上。
13. Unit 123 + Unit 124 联合理解
这两个 Unit 实际上都围绕同一个空间模型：
| 介词 | 核心模型 | 典型例子 |
|---|---|---|
| in | Container / Area | in the room |
| at | Point / Position | at the door |
| on | Surface / Line | on the table |
然后扩展：
in → 空间 / 范围 / 群体
in the roomin a picturein a rowin the countryin the sales department
at → 位置点
at the doorat the bus stopat the topat the bottomat the endat the corner
on → 表面 / 线 / 载体
on the tableon a pageon a websiteon the coaston the lefton the second floor
14. 最终思维模型
遇到 in / at / on，不要先想中文应该翻译成什么。
先问：
① 是一个“空间 / 范围”吗？
in
例如：
in the roomin the picturein the department
② 是一个“具体位置点”吗？
at
例如：
at the doorat the cornerat the end
③ 是一个“表面 / 线 / 载体”吗？
on
例如：
on the tableon the pageon the websiteon the coast
15. 一句话记住 Unit 124
in = inside / area
at = point / position
on = surface / line
尤其记住这三组：
in the back of the carat the back of the cinemaon the back of the photo
以及：
in the corner of the roomat / on the corner of the street