|
ESL Forum:
Techniques and methods
in Language Teaching
Games, activities
and teaching ideas
Grammar and
Linguistics
Teaching material
Concerning
worksheets
Concerning
powerpoints
Concerning online
exercises
Make suggestions,
report errors
Ask for help
Message board
|
ESL forum >
Ask for help > at/ in a restaurant
at/ in a restaurant
|
ignis.fatuus
|
at/ in a restaurant
|
|
dear friends,
i need some help, please. tomorrow i �m teaching a lesson and one of the points says :
They are going to a restaurant. but
They �re at a restaurant.
i guess they �ll ask me why it �s says "at a restaurant" not "in a restaurant". are both these forms correct and if not, is there a difference?
thanks in advance and have a lovely evening (or day, depends on which part of the globe you are)
martyna |
31 May 2010
|
|
|
|
starryargenta
|
|
Both are correct but with slightly different meanings. As there �s no context in your example it �s hard to give a definite answer. At a restaurant is more general , e.g Where are they? At the restaurant.
In gives more emphasis to their position e.g. They are sitting in (inside) the restaurant. |
31 May 2010
|
|
|
ignis.fatuus
|
|
oh, there is no context in the book. there �s just a picture of people dining out and the caption says: They �re at a restaurant. i thought that in a restaurant means more the building and at the restaurant is just the idea that they are eating out somewhere. i �m not sure if i �m right and i don �t know if my ss will get it right. |
31 May 2010
|
|
|
|
|
magneto
|
|
I think both are correct. I �ve heard "at" used more frequently, but both are correct. Starryagenta �s explanation of the difference in meaning seems right.
|
31 May 2010
|
|
|
yanogator
|
|
Yes, I agree with Starryargenta. With businesses and some other places, we use "at" when we are there for the intended purpose, and "in" when just the physical location is important. I can be "at home" when I am outside in the yard or "in the house" (never "in home", and "in the home" means I am at a special facility for old people, and especially old people with special needs).
The students are at school all day. There is a beautiful statue in the school.
We ate at my favorite restaurant. There isn �t a public telephone in the restaurant.
I saw a great movie at the theater last night. It was very cold in the theater.
Mom is at the store. You couldn �t find her there? I guess she was in the shoe repair shop at that time. ("at the shoe repair shop" would also be correct, depending on whether the speaker �s emphasis was that she was doing business there, or just that she wasn �t in the grocery store).
However, the rule is reversed for some other locations:
My uncle is in the hospital. My aunt is at the hospital today visiting him.
Fred is in jail. His brother is at the jail now, bailing him out.
I hope this is helpful, rather than confusing!
Bruce |
31 May 2010
|
|
|
ignis.fatuus
|
|
wow! thanks for the quick reply, it �s more clear now
hugs from rainy poland! |
31 May 2010
|
|
|
almaz
|
|
Perhaps it might be clearer if you used the name of the restaurant/location with the act of dining/eating. There �s the old cartoonist �s staple: Eat at Joe �s! (nobody would say Eat in Joe �s!). Likewise, I might say that I �m having a meal at my brother �s tonight (never in my brother �s) but I love being in Maxim �s (I just can �t afford to eat there...) |
31 May 2010
|
|
|
ignis.fatuus
|
|
wow! thanks for the quick reply, it �s more clear now
hugs from rainy poland! |
31 May 2010
|
|
|
savvinka
|
|
I �ve got a question foк Yangator! For me the difference between using the prepositions in and at - is clear more or less (as it could be clear for a not- native speaker), but in any way I �ve read yr explaination with a great interest. Thank you very much! I want some other clarification. The articles are the most difficult part of speach to use, sts often ask questions so I try not to forget all the rules and exceptions. So, I read in one of the grammar text books that we never use article with HOSPITAL, apart from the case when we are on visit there. Yr sentence: My uncle is in the hospital. My aunt is at the hospital today visiting him. contains the article in both cases? Is it possible? Thank you, Olga |
31 May 2010
|
|
|
yanogator
|
|
I �m sorry, Olga. I forgot to mention that I was giving US English examples. In British English, they use "in hospital", but in the US, we say "in the hospital". There aren �t many differences in the use of "the", but that one stands out.
Bruce |
31 May 2010
|
|
1
2
Next >
|
