Arrive At/To?

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Arrive At/To?

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Hi! Could you explain, please, when we use "arrive at" and "arrive to"? They say that "arrive at" if arriving at an island, and "arrive to" if we arrive to another any place. Is that correct?

Eladio (Thanks in advance)

Mar 14 2007 13:28:04

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No, arrive at is the correct form. We arrived at the school, he arrived at the airport, she will arrive at the factory......

Arrive to is only used when the 'to' is part of a verb combination, not related to the place. For example 'the workmen arrived to mend the boiler'.

Mar 14 2007 13:31:08

Hello, nona!

Thank you for your comment. A friend of mine, American (he is just a doctor, not a grammarian, but born in America), sitting besides me right now says that he can say, for example "Elaine should be arriving in the States about now". And he himself ask for an explanation, more detailed if possible, about this point. Here, he is using "arrive in", but he says that he could say "Elaine will arrive to Canada tomorrow". So....???!!!

Eladio

Mar 14 2007 13:51:20

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Yes, you can arrive in a country, as well as at a place, but I am quite surprised your friend considers "arrive to Canada" an appropriate construction. I don't.

Mar 14 2007 14:02:14

Oh, I am so sorry, Grammar Geek! My friend says that he told me "Elaine will arrive from Canada tomorrow", not "to". He wants to kill me. Thank you Grammar Geek. Now, all is in its place.

Eladio

Mar 14 2007 14:31:44

Old EladioA friend of mine, American (he is just a doctor, not a grammarian, but born in America), sitting besides me right now says that he can say, for example "Elaine should be arriving in the States about now".

Hi Old Eladio

Nice to hear from you! It's been quite a while. Of course there are some exceptions, but basically the choice of preposition after arrive is easy. Use the same preposition that you use after is:

He is in New York. He arrived in New York.
He is at the airport. He arrived at the airport.

If no concrete place is involved, the preposition is usually at:
He arrived at the right conclusion.

Cheers
CB

Mar 14 2007 15:15:47

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Old EladioOh, I am so sorry, Grammar Geek! My friend says that he told me "Elaine will arrive from Canada tomorrow", not "to". He wants to kill me. Thank you Grammar Geek. Now, all is in its place.

Eladio

Don't let him do that! We would miss you!!

Mar 14 2007 15:23:48

If you Google "arrive to the U.S" you will see it in many government documents.

Also, I think it is much more common to say, Don't arrive to school late" than to use a different preposition.

I've seen many schools themselves talk about "arriving to school" on their sites.

I was taught that in Modern Linguistics usage by the educated in society always trumps written grammatical rules.

example - who vs. whom

Jun 01 2017 02:07:34

Thank you

Dec 07 2018 16:58:43

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No, arrive at is the correct form. We arrived at the school, he arrived at the airport, she will arrive at the factory......

Arrive to is only used when the 'to' is part of a verb combination, not related to the place. For example 'the workmen arrived to mend the boiler'.
Hello, nona!

Thank you for your comment. A friend of mine, American (he is just a doctor, not a grammarian, but born in America), sitting besides me right now says that he can say, for example "Elaine should be arriving in the States about now". And he himself ask for an explanation, more detailed if possible, about this point. Here, he is using "arrive in", but he says that he could say "Elaine will arrive to Canada tomorrow". So....???!!!

Eladio
Yes, you can arrive in a country, as well as at a place, but I am quite surprised your friend considers "arrive to Canada" an appropriate construction. I don't.
Oh, I am so sorry, Grammar Geek! My friend says that he told me "Elaine will arrive from Canada tomorrow", not "to". He wants to kill me. Thank you Grammar Geek. Now, all is in its place.

Eladio
Old EladioA friend of mine, American (he is just a doctor, not a grammarian, but born in America), sitting besides me right now says that he can say, for example "Elaine should be arriving in the States about now".
Hi Old Eladio

Nice to hear from you! It's been quite a while. Of course there are some exceptions, but basically the choice of preposition after arrive is easy. Use the same preposition that you use after is:

He is in New York. He arrived in New York.
He is at the airport. He arrived at the airport.

If no concrete place is involved, the preposition is usually at:
He arrived at the right conclusion.

Cheers
CB
Old EladioOh, I am so sorry, Grammar Geek! My friend says that he told me "Elaine will arrive from Canada tomorrow", not "to". He wants to kill me. Thank you Grammar Geek. Now, all is in its place.

Eladio

Don't let him do that! We would miss you!!
If you Google "arrive to the U.S" you will see it in many government documents.
Also, I think it is much more common to say, Don't arrive to school late" than to use a different preposition.
I've seen many schools themselves talk about "arriving to school" on their sites.
I was taught that in Modern Linguistics usage by the educated in society always trumps written grammatical rules.
example - who vs. whom

Arrive At/To?

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