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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > "in" "on" or "at"     

"in" "on" or "at"



Delphine 05
Belgium

"in" "on" or "at"
 
Hello dear friends!!

I have a little question Embarrassed

I don �t know which preposition to use in this sentence

I live "in" a boarding school. Do I have to use "in" "on" or "at" ?

Thanks for your help Hug

Have a nice day Thumbs Up

Delphine


26 Feb 2009      





resch.ryan
United States

I would say at :)

26 Feb 2009     



HARIM
Morocco

I don �t agree resh
 
It �s in
Have a nice day

26 Feb 2009     



libertybelle
United States

I would say AT too.

I go to a boarding school
I am in school
I live at a boarding school

It could be the books say in but I would only say at.

Grammar books and reality don �t always agree.

26 Feb 2009     



HollyHirst
United Kingdom

I �m English and would definitely say �in �

26 Feb 2009     



HARIM
Morocco

Let �s first agree upon the difference between:
He �s at prison
He �s in prison
I hope it can help draw the lines between:
A student lives at a boarding school
A custodian lives in a boarding school
 
What do other teachers think?

26 Feb 2009     



libertybelle
United States

Dearest Harim!!!

Well, I admit, it is better to live IN a boarding school, than outside in the cold, cold rain!!LOL

But the custodian could easily live at the boarding school instead of having his own house somewhere.

On the other hand, most custodians live in a cottage on the school grounds!

26 Feb 2009     



Zora
Canada

Truthfully, I would use...

"I stay (live) at a boarding school..." - to live in one sounds like you are actually enclosed in there all the time...

I agree with Liberty... though, I am not so "yay" about  the verb "live" used in the sentence since a boarding school is like a hotel, you pay to be there, it isn �t your home, so I would use "stay" instead of "live"....

26 Feb 2009     



arkel
Ireland

As an ex boarding school occupant and a native speaker, I wouldn �t use either live or stay. I always say I was at boarding school for......

26 Feb 2009     



Zora
Canada

Yes, that �s true arkel ... but that is like saying "I am at school/university/college..."

But where did you stay? Live? Were lodged? etc...

As a native speaker, I would probably say, for example any one of the following:

"I roomed with some friends..."

"I stayed at a boarding house/dorm/etc..."

"I lived on campus..."




26 Feb 2009     



arkel
Ireland

When I was at University I said I stayed in digs (boarding house), but for school we used, at least in Ireland, the expression �where were you at school? � �I was at boarding school � because the very name �boarding school � implies that you also slept there. I don �t know if that �s universal English or not, but it �s what we say in Ireland. Hope it helps the original poster. Hugs, Rosemary

26 Feb 2009     

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