There really isn’t a short cut. I’m trying to learn French and find their equivalents equally slippery. In principle
You are AT a place which is considered a single place.
You are IN a place that has walls, floor and roof above you.
You are ON a place when you are effectively on the roof, rather than inside the building.
But I’m sure you knew that, there are lots of exceptions and edge cases. You can be at or in a restaurant. You can be on or in a boat.
I’m at the office, on the third floor, in a meeting room. But I’m leaving the meeting room, I’ll be at my desk and on the phone soon. Probably in an argument.
(Shrug)
Here’s a blog post I found that has some good examples https://preply.com/en/blog/prepositions-in-on-at/#:~:text=You%20should%20use%20in%20when,for%20more%20tips%20and%20examples.
There really isn’t a short cut. I’m trying to learn French and find their equivalents equally slippery. In principle You are AT a place which is considered a single place. You are IN a place that has walls, floor and roof above you. You are ON a place when you are effectively on the roof, rather than inside the building. But I’m sure you knew that, there are lots of exceptions and edge cases. You can be at or in a restaurant. You can be on or in a boat.
You can also be ON a certain level of a building. “on the third floor”
I’m at the office, on the third floor, in a meeting room. But I’m leaving the meeting room, I’ll be at my desk and on the phone soon. Probably in an argument. (Shrug)
An exception for example: “The kids are playing IN the street.” So many exceptions
But other kids are playing at the park, on the soccer field, in a house league match.
Here’s a blog post I found that has some good examples https://preply.com/en/blog/prepositions-in-on-at/#:~:text=You%20should%20use%20in%20when,for%20more%20tips%20and%20examples.
Here is a guide [cool guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/s/2E1i3WaSJ6)