At

at + time of day e.g. at 9.20am, at midnight
at night

at + address e.g. At 65 Sutter Street
at + building e.g. at the Prado Museum
at home

at present
at the moment
at first / at last
at times (=sometimes)
at once (=immediately)
at a high / low price
(not) at all

On

on + date e.g. on 27 Apr
on + day e.g. on Friday

on + street e.g. on Wall Street
on + coast e.g. on the East Coast
on + floor e.g. on the 3rd floor

on a vehicle e.g. on a bus, on a train, on a plane
on foot
on the cover (of)
on a trip
on sale (=for sale at a reduced price)
on schedule
on TV / radio
on the phone
on a farm
on a map
on the other hand
on purpose (=intentionally)

In

The next 3 posts will be devoted to the usage of the following prepositions: in, on, at. Feel free to ask any questions in the comment section.

In
in + century e.g. in the twenty-first century
in + decade e.g. in the 1940s, in the nineties
in + year e.g. in 1987
in + season e.g. in the summer
in + month e.g. in September
in + parts of the day e.g. in the morning / afternoon / evening
in + continent e.g. in South America
in + country e.g. in Japan
in + state / province e.g. in Ontario
in + city e.g. in Berlin
in + building e.g. in the Empire State Building
in + room e.g. in the bathroom
in + clothing e.g. in a grey suit
in + language e.g. in French
in + book e.g. in the Beast and the Beauty
in + newspaper / magazine e.g. in the Financial Times
in + department e.g. in the legal department
in + field e.g. in computer science, in architecture

in my opinion
in the past / future
in the world
in a car / taxi
in trouble
in danger (of)
in part (=partially)
in front of
in the middle of
in line
in the process of
in the market (=trying to buy sth)

A Guinea Pig

A guinea pig is someone who is used in a scientific test to see how successful or safe a new product, system etc.




Examples:
We're looking for volunteers to act as guinea pigs for a new AIDS vaccine.
My guests are guinea pigs for all the new dishes I try out.

Dealing with Problems on the Phone

Problems in communication
You're breaking up... I haven't got a very good signal.
Sorry, it's a really bad line.
I'm afraid I didn't catch that.
Can you speak up a bit?
Hold on while I go somewhere quieter.
I'll hang up and try again later.

Not a good time to call
Sorry, but I have someone other on the line. Can I call back?
I'm afraid I really don't have a lot of time today. Can you call again tomorrow?
I'm just on my way out. Can you call again later?
Sorry, this will have to be quick. I'm about to go into a meeting.

Avoiding Saying 'No'

Sorry, I'll be away on business when you need me.
Er... have you tried John?
Hmm, I don't have a lot of time at the moment.
I'd love to help, but...
It may be a bit problematic...
Try me again when I'm back from holiday.
I'm afraid I've got too much on at the moment.

To Turn a Blind Eye

If you turn a blind eye to something, you deliberately ignore something that you know should not be happening.



Examples:
Teachers were turning a blind eye to smoking in school.
Management often turn a blind eye to bullying in the workplace.