at/in

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Evo25  #546168  Fri, 25 Jul 08 08:52 AM
it make me feel confusing.
i know for places , in should be used such as in malaysia, in singapore,etc
how about these below ?
which sholud be right?
at/in school??
at/on work?
  
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New2grammar  #546173  Fri, 25 Jul 08 09:22 AM
I don't know about on work but the rest are possible depending on context.
  
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Evo25  #546187  Fri, 25 Jul 08 10:30 AM
can someone explains further to me..!
what means depending on the context?
can give me few examples??
thanks.
  
New2grammar  #546228  Fri, 25 Jul 08 01:30 PM
Is Amy home?
Nope. She's at school.


My daughter is in school/college.


My husband is at work. You can reach him on his cell phone.


 

  
Grammar Geek  #546268  Fri, 25 Jul 08 02:34 PM

Evo,

Prepositions are very, very tricky in English and they often seem to have few rules to help you with figuring out when to use which ones. However, there are some general guidelines.

Here are two sites that may help you:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslprep2.html

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslprep.html

These both relate to places.

Don't be discouraged by these. No native speaker will misunderstand you if you say "I arrived to New York at Saturday" instead of "I arrived in New York on Saturday."

  
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Barbara, who answers in American English.
New2grammar  #546272  Fri, 25 Jul 08 02:38 PM
Grammar Geek

Don't be discouraged by these. No native speaker will misunderstand you if you say "I arrived to New York at Saturday" instead of "I arrived in New York on Saturday."


I feel so good hearing this. I'm always afraid of using the wrong preposition.

  
Grammar Geek  #546358  Fri, 25 Jul 08 07:01 PM

Trust me, no one will care.

Sometimes it's important - I need this report by Friday versus on Friday, but when it comes to places, no one will misunderstand. Same with "I rode on a car" (although someone may smile, picturing you gripping the roof rack as you sped down the highway). No one will misunderstand. The first goal is simply to communicate. Perfecting these little things later is fine - don't let them keep you from trying to speak.

 

  
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