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Message board > At school or in school?
At school or in school?
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chud
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At school or in school?
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My grandma is a teacher. She works in school.
Am I wrong? Is it "at school"? And if it �s "in school" what about an article "a", as in "in a bank"? I �m a little bit confused. Sorry!
Thank you in advance for your kind assistance!!!
Have a nice day!
Liza.
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20 Jan 2011
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David Lisgo
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I don �t think native speakers consciously differentiate between "in" and "at" when it comes to places, but for me either �She works in a school � or �She works at a school � are fine, though "at" seems to suggest an activity when talking about places and since you have used the word "works", then I think "She works in a school" is best. I believe that the article is necessary.
Now I �m confused. |
20 Jan 2011
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lafrohnaple
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I understand your confusion. This deal with prepositions of place--the three most common being in, at, and on. We can and do use in and at for spaces and places. Typically, when you are taking about an enclosed space, you will use in; however, the English language tends to present constant contradictions. Your question showcases one of the exceptions--at school is a common expression we use--it indicates a place, which necessitates that we use at.
Your second question deals with definite and indefinite articles.
If you are talking about a particular school that the reader/listener is aware of, you will use the; you want to emphazise this particular ONE school. If you are talking about a general school, one the reader/listener, may or may not be aware of, you can use a. In this case though, you can eliminate the article if you are talking about a location that the reader/listener is completely aware about and you feel it is not necessary to draw attention that you are talking about this ONE in particular school out of many. Here are some examples.
1) My mom works at the school that caters to the deaf.
2) My mom works at a school because she is a teacher.
3) Yes, you probably say her in the hallway today. My mom works at school.
Hope this helps! |
20 Jan 2011
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Apodo
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I would say:
My grandma is a teacher. She works in a school. (general statement about where teachers work)
or
My grandma is a teacher. She works at a school near here. / at a big public school (I �d use this if giving more information about the school)
The article is needed, but at or in are both OK.
But:
UK English: Is your child at school (yet)?
US English: Is your child in school (yet)?= Is your child old enough to attend school?
Perhaps someone could confirm the US usage 8-)
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20 Jan 2011
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chud
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Thanks a bunch for your explanations and examples. I �ll correct the worksheet I �ve just uploaded.
Have a great weekend!
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20 Jan 2011
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lafrohnaple
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Apodo, those are really good exmaples you bring up. You are right about the differences in American and British usage (I am a US citizen--native English speaker--and we never EVER say at the weekend). I also think in would work with previous examples I provided, but I always use at. This might be a discussion about British versus US usage as opposed to correct grammar.
Apodo, I agree with your examples.
Chud,I suppose you simply have to look at the context of the sentence. |
20 Jan 2011
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Flora1
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I use to say : I work at school, because i want to be specific that is at some place. |
20 Jan 2011
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kmtr
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I agree with many of the above posters: To me (I define myself as a native English speaker from the southern part of the U.S.) in or at can both be used in the original example, but you need the article. I really like lafrohnaple �s explanation of when to use the article and when not to use it. |
20 Jan 2011
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