the differences among on,in and at

Penggunaan Kata Depan ON

Tulisan ini membahas penggunaan kata depan (preposition) ON ketika digunakan dalam prepositional phrase, baik sebagai modifier of place, modifier of time, maupun ketika digunakan dalam ungkapan-ungkapan (expressions).

a. on + the + permukaan benda

Phrase ini digunakan untuk menyatakan bahwa suatu benda berada atau menempel/bersentuhan pada permukaan benda lain.  ON berarti “di atas” jika menempel di atas permukaan benda lainnya.  Sebaliknya, gunakan ABOVE untuk menyatakan “di atas” tetapi bendanya tidak menempel.

Note: Article the, juga bisa digantikan dengan adjective pronouns.

Contoh:

1. Why don’t you hang your pictures on the wall?
2. There’s something on your cheek. (cheek = pipi).
3. I put the book on your desk.
4. We were not allowed to make comments. We had to sit still on the couch listening. (still = diam; couch = sofa).

b. on + nama hari/tanggal

Contoh:

1. My birthday is in October, exactly on October 24. I was born on the 24^th of  October in 1966.
2. Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945, or exactly on August 17, 1945.
3. I will be busy on Friday, but I will be free  on Saturday.

Note: Gunakan IN jika diikuti oleh nama bulan atau tahun. (Lihat Penggunaan IN. d)

c. on + nama jalan

Contoh:

1. Mr. Smith, our English teacher, lives on Jalan Diponegoro.
2. A terrible accident took place on Jalan Sudirman this morning.

Note: Gunakan AT untuk menyatakan alamat (no. rumah/bangunan + nama jalan). (Lihat Penggunaan AT. b )

d. 0n + a/the + bus/plane/train/ship/bike

1. You’re late. Janet just got on the plane.
2. I saw Maria on a bus this morning.
3. A few days before Idul Fitri, many train passengers usually have no seats. They have to stand on the train or even dangerously sit on the roof of the train.

Note:

• Gunakan IN jika diikuti oleh car/van.

1. Get in the car!
2. After all family members had got in the van, they left for their home village.

• Untuk truck, gunakan IN jika berada di dalam ruangan sopir, dan gunakan ON jika berada di bak truck.

1. Luckily, there was one seat left in the truck, otherwise, I would have sat on the back of the truck.

e. on + the + (ordinal number/adjective) + floor

Contoh:

1. You guys can sleep on the bed and I will sleep on the floor.
2. Heru lives in an apartment. He lives on the twenty- second floor of that apartment.
3. Sir, we have only one room left on the thirteenth floor.

f. on the beach

Contoh:

1. I saw them walking on the beach a few minutes ago.
2. If you go to Kuta, Bali, you will see a lot of tourists lying on the beach. (lie = berbaring)

g. on time

On time = punctual = tepat waktu. Bedakan dengan in time. (Lihat IN. h).
Contoh:

1. The meeting started at 10 a.m. Robby arrived at 10. He was on time.
2. Despite the bad weather, our plane took off on time.

h. on the corner

On the corner = di pojok/di persimpangan. Biasanya digunakan untuk menyatakan suatu lokasi yang terletak di sebuah persimpangan jalan.
Contoh:

1. The police station is on the corner of Jalan Diponegoro and Jalan Sudirman.
2. The shopping center is on the corner of Main Street and Pasadena Avenue.

Note: Di Canada dan USA, nama jalan ditambahkan kata “Street” (disingkat St. Misalnya: Main St.) jika jalan tersebut membentang dari timur ke barat. Sebaliknya, ditambahkan kata “Avenue” (disingkat Ave. Misalnya Pasadena Ave.) jika jalannya membentang dari utara ke selatan.

i. on the sidewalk

Contoh:

1. Don’t walk in the street. Walk on the sidewalk.

j. on the way

On the way = dalam perjalanan. Bedakan dengan in the way. (Lihat IN. j).
Contoh:

1. I will buy the book (that) the professor told us to read on the way to campus.
2. I think James is on the way to his girl friend’s house now.

k. on +the + right/left.

Contoh:

1. My office is on the left wing of the building while Ronny’s is on the right.
2. Do you know those two girls? Yes, of course, I do. The one sitting on the right is Lucy, while the one on the left is Lissie.
   

l.   on + television/ the telephone/(the) radio.

Contoh:

1. The debate will be on television tonight.
2. The manager is on the telephone. He will be here soon.
3. Before the television era, we used to listen to live sports games on the radio.

Note : the didak digunakan jika on diikuti oleh television; the harus digunakan jika diikuti oleh telephone/phone; the optional (bisa digunakan, bisa tidak) jika diikuti oleh radio.

m. on the whole

On the whole= in general = secara keseluruhan.
Contoh:

1. On the whole, the rescue mission was well done.
2. Although SBY has been criticized on certain issues, on the whole, he is considered successful in governing our country.

n.   on the other hand

On the other hand = however = nevertheless.
Contoh:

1. The present perfect tense is never used to indicate a specific time; on the other hand, the simple past tense is.
2. He wants to study English at the university; on the other hand, his parents want him to take economics.

o. on sale

On sale = diobral, dijual lebih mural dari harga normal.
Contoh:

1. The cellphones will go on sale this weekend.
2. The regular price of the book is $99.95, but today it’s on sale for $75.

p.   on foot

On foot = walking = jalan kaki.
Contoh:

1. My car did not start so I came on foot.
2. Although he has a car, he prefers to go to his office on foot.

Note: ON pada ungkapan on foot juga bisa digantikan dengan BY. (i.e by foot).