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Nurses on horses? Jobs and workplaces with at, in and on

An A1 ESL lesson plan on jobs and workplaces with at, in and on, for saying where people work.

Grammar
At for a workplace or home (at a hospital, at home), in for an office, a city or a state, on for a farm, a ranch or a ship, outside with no preposition, and Where does she work?
Topic
Jobs and workplaces, with nurse-midwives riding horses to families in the Kentucky mountains in 1925, and words like clinic, ranch and take care of.
Activities
A history sign to read, a dialogue about jobs in two families, self-checking drills, a Career Day chat, open-box questions and a post about a person at work.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Who works where?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: jobs and workplacesVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: nurses on horses

    • Look at the photo: nurses on horsesPictureUnlock
    • Read the history signReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: jobs in the family

    • Listen to Mia and KofiListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: at home, in an office, on a farm

    • Study the scheme: at, in, onGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right word: at, in or onChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: at, in, onDrag and dropTry it
    • Fill in the gaps: Where does she work?Fill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: Career Day

    • Choose the right replies: Career DayChatTry it
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Choose the right words: a nurse in AtlantaChoose the optionUnlock
    • Match the words and their meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Write a post: a person at workWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record yourself: a job in my familySpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

22 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Jobs and workplaces

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • clinic
  • hospital
  • office
  • ranch
  • ship
  • saddlebag
  • outside

Grammar: at, in and on with workplaces

Saying where someone works takes a small word before the place: at a hospital, in an office, on a farm. From nurses on horses in 1925 Kentucky to a bus driver whose bus is his office, learners sort workplaces by these prepositions of place for jobs, ask Where does she work?, and learn that outside takes none.

Where do they work? at, in, on

Say where people work: at a hospital, in an office, on a farm.

At, in or on? Three kinds of workplace

At treats a workplace as a point: at a hospital, at a clinic, at home. In is for a room, a city, a state or an area: in an office, in Atlanta, in the mountains. On goes with farms, ranches, ships and horses: on a ranch.

at + a workplace, home, work

  • at a hospital
  • at a school
  • at a clinic
  • at home
  • at work

in + a room, a city, a state, an area

  • in an office
  • in a kitchen
  • in Atlanta
  • in Kentucky
  • in the mountains

on + a farm, a ranch, a ship, a horse, the road

  • on a farm
  • on a ranch
  • on a ship
  • on a horse
  • on the road

At or in a hospital?

With a building such as a hospital, a school or a clinic, at says it's your workplace and in says you're inside, so She works at a hospital and She works in a hospital are both right. Home and work take only at: at home, never in home.

at or in a hospital?

at a hospital, a school, a clinic or an office = it's your workplace. in = inside the building. Both are OK: She works at a hospital. = She works in a hospital. But home and work take only at: at home, at work (not in home).

Work, works, and work outside

The verb follows the present simple: I work at home, she works on a farm, we don't work in Kentucky. Outside needs no at, in or on: They work outside. Farmers, cowboys and park rangers often do, and work in outside is a mistake.

work: every person

WhoYes ✓No ✗
II work at home.I don't work at home.
youYou work in an office.You don't work in an office.
he, she, itShe works on a farm.She doesn't work on a farm.
weWe work in Kentucky.We don't work in Kentucky.
theyThey work outside.They don't work outside.

outside: no at, in or on

She works outside. (Not: She works in outside.) Farmers, cowboys and park rangers often work outside.

Where does she work? What does she do?

Where does she work? asks for the place, and the answer can stack two prepositions: She works at a hospital in Atlanta. What does she do? asks for the job, and the job takes a or an: She's a nurse.

QuestionAnswer
What does she do?She's a nurse.
Where does she work?She works at a hospital in Atlanta.
Where do you work?I work in an office.
Does he work outside?Yes, he does. He works on a ranch.

Common mistakes

  • She works in home.

    She works at home.

    home and work: at

  • He works on an office.

    He works in an office.

    an office, a kitchen: in

  • They work in a farm.

    They work on a farm.

    a farm, a ranch, a ship, a horse: on

  • He works at Kentucky.

    He works in Kentucky.

    a city, a state, the mountains: in (not at the mountains)

More lessons on this grammar: Prepositions lessons and exercises

Try the at, in and on exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 11 auto-checked exercises
  • 2 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 2 pictures
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say where people work with at: She works at a hospital. She works at home. She's at work.
  • use in for an office, a city or a state and on for a farm, a ranch or a ship: They work on a farm.
  • ask about a job and a workplace: What does she do? She's a nurse. Where does she work?
  • say who works outside, with no at, in or on: Farmers often work outside.

Lesson 26 is the second lesson of Jobs people do, the seventh unit of English A1.2 · Out and About. It builds on lesson 25, where What does she do? asks about a job, and on the Where does it go? questions with does from lesson 10; lesson 27 moves on to verbs with prepositions, such as work with. The nurses of 1925 work at clinics, in the mountains and on horses, so one history sign needs all three prepositions.

Students spin a wheel of questions about work and learn ten words, from teach and take care of to ranch and saddlebag, with pictures and audio. They read a Kentucky history sign about the Frontier Nursing Service, which Mary Breckinridge starts in 1925, and its nurse-midwives, who ride horses to visit families at home. Then they hear Mia and Kofi (an AI-voiced dialogue) compare jobs in their families. The grammar chapter pairs the scheme with four self-checking exercises, including a drag-and-drop of at, in and on and a gap-fill of Where does she work? questions. In the speaking chapter, students chat with a nurse at Career Day about their family's jobs, then open boxes.

Homework opens with two self-checking tasks, a choice of words about a nurse in Atlanta and a match of job words with their meanings. Then students write a post about a person at work and record a short talk about a job in their family, and the teacher reviews both.

Grammar:
at, in, on with workplaces · at home, at work · in + a city or a state · on a farm · Where does she work?
Topic:
jobs · workplaces · nurses · Kentucky · American history

Teaching tips

  • Draw three boxes on the board, labeled at, in and on, and fill them with the places from the history sign before students open the scheme.
  • Point out two prepositions in one answer: She works at a hospital in Atlanta has a workplace with at and a city with in. Students then build one about someone they know.
  • Collect real answers before the dialogue: each student says where someone in the family works, like My aunt works at a school, then listens for the same patterns in Mia and Kofi's talk.
  • Turn Career Day into pair interviews after the chat: students ask What does your mom do? and Where does she work?, then tell the class one answer.

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The whole course: English A1.2 · Out and About

32 lessons that pick up where English A1.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present simple with he and she to was and were. Eight units cover shopping, the weather, getting around, celebrations, health, animals and nature, jobs and weekends. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Shopping

    clothes and colors, he and she in the present simple, sizes and prices, paying in a store

    1. Lesson 1What does she wear on Aloha Friday?Present simple with he, she and it
    2. Lesson 2A basket on wheels?Present simple negatives with don't and doesn't
    3. Lesson 3What size are these boots?What questions and a pair of
    4. Lesson 4Can I try it on? The Santa Fe Indian MarketRequests and permission with Can I and Can you

  2. Unit 2 Weather and seasons

    the weather, seasons and months, the present continuous, how often it rains or snows

    1. Lesson 5Is the Windy City windy?Weather adjectives with It's
    2. Lesson 6Does it rain in the desert?Yes/no questions with does
    3. Lesson 7Baseball at midnight?The present continuous for now
    4. Lesson 8Is it always windy on Mount Washington?Adverbs of frequency and their place

  3. Unit 3 Getting around

    transport, timetables, where places are, tickets with want and need

    1. Lesson 9How do you get to work?By + transport, take the bus and on foot
    2. Lesson 10What time does the ferry leave?Wh- questions with does
    3. Lesson 11Where's the streetcar stop?Between, behind, in front of and across from
    4. Lesson 12Do you need a ticket?Want and need with a noun

  4. Unit 4 Celebrations

    dates and holidays, in and on, party invitations, object pronouns

    1. Lesson 13Why is it called Juneteenth?Ordinal numbers for saying dates
    2. Lesson 14Never on a Sunday? The Rose ParadeIn, on and at for dates and times
    3. Lesson 15Come to our Lunar New Year party!Some and any with plural nouns
    4. Lesson 16Thank you, teacher!Object pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us and them

  5. Unit 5 Healthy me

    the body, how often, at the pharmacy, steps with first and then

    1. Lesson 17Does your back hurt?Hurt and hurts with parts of the body
    2. Lesson 18How often do you walk?How often questions and expressions of frequency
    3. Lesson 19What's the matter?Have and has for health problems
    4. Lesson 20Clean hands in five stepsSequence words with imperatives

  6. Unit 6 Animals and nature

    there is and there are, what animals are doing, parks, a, an and the

    1. Lesson 21Which frog sings its name?There is and there are for what's in a place
    2. Lesson 22What's the bear doing now?Present continuous questions and negatives
    3. Lesson 23Are there any horses on the beach?Questions with is there and are there any
    4. Lesson 24Where do the baby turtles go?A, an and the for first and second mention

  7. Unit 7 Jobs people do

    jobs and workplaces, the present simple and continuous, job interviews, possessive pronouns

    1. Lesson 25Who makes the sounds in movies?Present simple vs present continuous
    2. Lesson 26 · you're hereNurses on horses?At, in and on with workplaces
    3. Lesson 27Can you be a lifeguard?Verbs with prepositions
    4. Lesson 28Whose hat is this?Possessive pronouns from mine to theirs

  8. Unit 8 Weekend stories and plans

    was and were, how long and how tall, and, but and or, camping food

    1. Lesson 29Why do we have two days off?Was and were, the past of be
    2. Lesson 30How long is a blue whale?How + adjective questions about size
    3. Lesson 31A cow made of butter?And, but and or for joining ideas
    4. Lesson 32What do you need for s'mores?Containers and quantities with of

Questions about this lesson

How do you talk about jobs in English?
Name the job with a or an, then the place: She's a nurse. She works at a hospital in Atlanta. Add what the person does there with a present simple verb: She takes care of babies. To ask, use What does she do? for the job and Where does she work? for the place. The article matters: the Career Day chat in Nurses on horses?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, offers She's teacher as a wrong reply.
How do you answer "Where do you work?"
Answer with I work, then at, in or on and the place: I work at a school. I work in an office. I work on a ranch. A second in can add the city: I work at a hospital in Atlanta. Home takes at with no the (I work at home), and outside takes no preposition: I work outside. Students who don't work yet can answer I study at home and at school.
When do you use at, in and on with workplaces?
Use at for a workplace seen as a point, like at a hospital or at a clinic, and in at home and at work. Use in for a room, a city, a state or an area: in an office, in Kentucky, in the mountains. Use on for a farm, a ranch, a ship, a horse or the road: on a farm, on a ship.
Is it "work at" or "work in" a hospital?
Both are right for a building like a hospital: at names it as your workplace, and in puts you inside it. She works at a hospital. She works in a hospital. A school, a clinic or an office works the same way. Cities and states take only in, so it's He works in Kentucky, never at Kentucky, and home and work take only at.
Is it "on a farm" or "in a farm"?
Say on a farm, just like on a ranch: They work on a farm. My uncle is a cowboy. He works on a ranch. In a farm is a common mistake. On also goes with a ship, a horse and the road: My aunt cooks on a big ship. In Nurses on horses? on edio.ai, students choose He works on a farm in Iowa over in a farm in the Career Day chat.
Is it "at home" or "in home"?
It's at home, with no the: She works at home. Pickle is at home all day today. Work follows the same pattern, so someone who isn't home is at work: Emma isn't here. She's at work. Outside goes further and takes no preposition at all: Farmers often work outside, not in outside.
What jobs and workplace vocabulary do beginners learn?
Beginners learn everyday jobs together with the places people do them: a nurse at a hospital or a clinic, a teacher at a school, a farmer on a farm, a cowboy on a ranch, a cook on a ship, a bus driver on the road and office workers in an office. Two verbs describe the work itself: teach and take care of.
How do I teach at, in and on for workplaces to beginners?
Start from real people in real places: a nurse at a hospital, a farmer on a farm, a worker in an office. Sort the places into at, in and on, then practice the traps, in home, in a farm and at Kentucky. Nurses on horses?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, takes that path: a history sign and a family dialogue first, then the scheme, four drills and a chat.
What's a good game for practicing at, in and on?
A fast job-and-place game works well: one player names a job, and the other answers with the workplace and its preposition, like a farmer → on a farm or a nurse → at a hospital. Speed brings out the traps. The open boxes in this lesson include that game, next to questions like Where do nurses work? And cowboys? And cooks?
What's good homework for practicing jobs and workplaces?
A short post about someone at work is good homework: who the person is, what he or she does, and where, with at, in or on. This is my brother, Kai. He lives in Honolulu, Hawaii. He works at a surf shop near the beach. In Nurses on horses? on edio.ai, students write that post for a class blog and record a talk about a job in their family, once two self-checking tasks are done.
Are there interactive exercises for at, in and on?
Yes: drag-and-drop gaps and chats let learners practice at, in and on and see right away what's correct. This page plays four parts of Nurses on horses?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: the Kentucky history sign, a dialogue about jobs in two families, a drag-and-drop of at, in and on, and a Career Day chat. The other drills, like the Where does she work? gap-fill, are locked.
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