On the table and at the table have completely different meanings.

The famous phrase “The book is on the table” is commonly memorized by English learners but prepositions of place can still cause confusion. This lesson is for anyone learning English who struggles when choosing which preposition to use.

➡ Which preposition of place to use when the sentence context is to sit and eat a meal?

In this case we use at:

✅ At = Indicates proximity.

Ex: “I usually sit at the table for dinner”.

In this sentence we understand that you are sitting on a chair and your plate is in front of you on the table.

✅ On = something that is on top.

If you say “I usually sit on the table for dinner”, this means that you sit directly on top of the table, instead of on a chair beside the table.

Ex: “Dinner is on the table”.

Be careful with these prepositions! 😅

Let’s practice!

Write in the comments section sentences with at and on.

Now that you know the difference between these two words, share these helpful tips with your friends so that they learn too. And schedule a lesson today using the code LIMLAUNCH to get a 50% discount!