In and At preposition

The use of the prepositions IN and AT in English is very important as they convey different meanings according to their usage.

Let’s have an example

“I will be ready in two hours. And I will leave at 8 p.m.”

In the above examples, I have mentioned the time and have used both IN and AT.

In the first sentence, I used IN before two hours. It shows a broader time frame like it will take me almost two hours to prepare myself.

But in the second sentence, I used 'at' before '8 p.m.' . It clarifies that I will leave exactly at 8 p.m. not before that or after that.

So simply to say

• For a specific time, AT will be used.
• For an unspecific time frame, IN will be used.

Let’s see another usage.

"He lives in Kolkata. But his friend lives at Bolpur."

In 1st sentence, I used "in" before "Kolkata",  which is a big city.

In the second sentence, I used 'at' before 'Bolpur', which is a small town.

To summaries

• Before a big city or place IN
• Before a small  place or town AT

So these are the usage patterns of IN and AT according to place and time, though you will see some exceptions.

More usage of In and At:

She started playing guitar at twelve.

The boy rushed at the door.

Don’t run in the sun.

The train will arrive at 6 o’clock.

There are a total of twenty fruits in this basket.

He will come in the evening.

* More examples will be added soon.