VOA慢速英语2015 时间、地点介词:In, On和 At的用法

Time and Place Prepositions 2: In, On, and At 时间、地点介词:In, On和 At的用法

When English speakers talk about time and place, there are three little words that often come up: in, on, and at. These common words are prepositions that show a relationship between two words in a sentence.

英语中提到时间和地点时，有三个词经常出现，那就是in, on和at。这些常用词都是表示一个句子中两个词之间关系的介词。

Some prepositions are rather easy for English learners to understand: behind, over, under, next to, etc...

一些介词对于英语学习者来说很容易理解：像behind, over, under, next to等。

But these little two-letter prepositions seem to create confusion 3. Here are a few rules to help you understand when to use in, on, and at in a sentence.

但是这些两个字母组成的介词似乎容易造成混淆。以下的规则可能会帮助你理解什么时候在句子中使用in, on和at。

For describing time and place, the prepositions in, on, and at go from general to specific.

in, on和at这些介词用于描述从一般到特殊意义的时间和地点。

Let’s start by looking at how we talk about time. English speakers use in to refer to a general, longer period of time, such as months, years, decades, or centuries. For example, we say "in April," "in 2015" or "in the 21st century."

我们先从时间开始谈论。英语中使用in指代一般意义和一段周期较长的时间，如几个月、几年、几十年或几世纪。例如我们常说“在四月”，“在2015年”，“在21世纪”。

Moving to shorter, more specific periods of time, we use on to talk about particular days, dates, and holidays . You may hear, "I went to work on Monday," or "Let’s have a picnic on Memorial Day."

谈及更短、更具体的时间段时，我们使用“on”来谈论具体的天数、日期和节假日。你可能听过这样的表述：“我周一去上班”，“我们在阵亡将士纪念日那天去野餐吧”。

For the most specific times, and for holidays without the word "day," we use at. That means you will hear, "Meet me at midnight," or "The flowers are in bloom 4 at Easter time."

对于更具体的时间，或者不含day的假期，我们会用at。你可能听过“午夜见”或“这花在复活节开放。”

When English speakers refer to a place, we use in for the largest or most general places. You can say that "VOA is located in Washington, D.C." And "for the best food, try the restaurants in Chinatown."

英语中提及地方时，我们用in来指代更大或更广泛意义的地方。例如我们会说“美国之音位于华盛顿特区。”“想尝试最好吃的食物，那么就去唐人街吧。”

For more specific places, like certain streets, we use the preposition 1 on.You may know that President Barack Obama lives on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

对于更具体的地点，如某条街，我们使用介词on。你也许知道奥巴马总统居住在华盛顿特区的宾夕法尼亚大道。

Finally, we get to the most specific places. For exact addresses or intersections 6, we use the preposition at. If I invited you to visit us here at VOA, I would say, "Come to my office at 330 Independence Avenue."To be exact, it’s at the corner of Independence and 3rd Street."

最后我们谈谈最具体的地点。例如确切的地址或交叉路口，我们使用介词at。如果我想邀请你到美国之音参观，我会说：“到我办公室来，在独立大道330号。确切点说是在独立大道和第三街道的交叉路口。”

In English, though, there is always an ‘exception to the rule.’ When talking about transportation, things get a little hard to understand.We use on for public vehicles like buses or trains, but also for smaller ones like a bicycle. "I rode there on my bicycle." However, you ride in a car.

英文中也有一些例外。谈及交通有时会有些难以理解。我们不但使用on表示乘坐公共交通工具，如公交车或火车，也会用on指代小的交通工具，如自行车。“我骑自行车去那里。”但是乘小汽车用in。

Still, it helps to know that English prepositions do have some rules.

尽管如此，这有助于大家了解英语介词确实存在一些规则。

Following the "general to specific" rule should help you most of the time.

遵循从一般到特殊的原则，大部分时间都能帮助到你。

Words in This Story

general - adj. relating to the main or major parts of something rather than the details

specific - adj. clearly and exactly presented or stated : precise 7 or exact

intersection 5 - n. the place where two or more streets meet or cross each other