On 可用來指任何表面上的位置,意為「在…上面;到…上面」。例如:
- All my books are on the desk. (我所有的書都放在書桌上)
- She’s lying on the floor. (她躺在地板上)
- There were several attractive posters on the wall. (牆上有幾張引人注目的海報)
但 There’s a crack in the wall. (牆上有條裂縫) - I could hear the rain falling on the roof. (我聽得到雨滴落在屋頂上的聲音)
On 可用來指建築物的樓層。例如:
- They live on the 39th floor. (他們住在 40 樓 (英) / 他們住在 39 樓 (美))
- She works on the 51st floor. (她在 52 樓工作 (英) /她在 51 樓工作 (美))
- 英國的一樓是 the ground floor,二樓是 the first floor;美國的一樓是 the first floor,二樓是 the second floor。
On 可用來指道路或街道,意為「在…路上;在…街上」。例如:
- My house is in/on Penghu Street. (我的房子位在澎湖街上)
- There were a lot of people in/on the street. (街上有許多人)
- 有關 in the street 和 on the street 之間的區別,端賴說話者從什麼角度來看。如果說話者當時人在那條街上,那麼就用 in the street;如果說話者當時人在距離不遠的另一條街上或在其他地方,那麼就用 on the street。
On 可用來指河海湖泊或邊界,意為「在 (任何水域或邊界) 旁;緊鄰著」。例如:
- It’s a small fishing village on the east coast of Taiwan. (那是台灣東海岸的一個小漁村)
- They live in a town on the Mississippi. (他們住在密西西比河邊的一座城鎮)
- There are two small towns on the frontier. (邊境附近有兩個小鎮)
- Strasbourg is on the border of France and Germany. (史特拉斯堡位在法德邊界) - 緊鄰邊界。
- They were stopped at the border. (他們在邊界被攔下) - 在邊界檢查哨。
On 可用來指任何地方、地區或土地,意為「在…地方」。例如:
- The king is buried on a small island. (國王被葬在一個小島上)
- Allen spent his childhood on a farm in Indonesia. (艾倫的童年是在印尼的一個農場度過)
- They live in that log cabin on the hill. (他們住在山上的那間小木屋)
- Who was the first man on the moon? (第一個登上月球的人是誰?)
In 可用來指房間或建築物,意為「在…裡」。例如:
- John is still in his room. (約翰還在他的房間裡)
- The children are downstairs in the sitting room. (孩子們在樓下客廳裡)
- His cellphone was lost somewhere in the post office. (他的手機掉在郵局裡的某個地方)
In 可用來指地區、城市、國家、洲或世界,意為「在…裡」。例如:
- Roger lives in Kaohsiung. (羅傑住在高雄)
- Tanzania is a country in Africa. (坦尚尼亞是個非洲國家)
- That’s the highest building in the world. (那是世界最高的建築物)
根據在 at 中的敘述,在辦公室等建築物內工作或任職於公司某部門要用 in,但在農場工作或在收銀台工作,則要用 on。例如:
- Nina works in an open-plan office. (妮娜在一間開敞式辦公室工作)
- I work in the company’s Tokyo office. (我在公司的東京辦事處上班)
- I hope I can work on a farm in the future. (我希望將來能在農場工作)
- His sister works on the checkout at the local supermarket. (他妹妹在當地超市的收銀台工作)
但 Your fruit and vegetables will be weighed at the checkout. (你的水果和蔬菜要在收銀台過磅)