university/at university

[crisneko]

My doubt ist...
"He met his wife when he was at university" and not "He met his wife when he was at THE university". Isn't Univ. countable? What's the reason?
Many thanks!!!

[5jj]

In BrE we go to the school, college, university, hospital, prison.
We are at school, college, universiy or in prison, hospital, church.

We normally use 'a/an' or 'the' with those words only when we are thinking of a building, or a specific place, rather than the institution.

'I go to university' = 'I am a university student'.

[waflob]

You would use the first form when making a general statement. For example,
Q. "When did they first meet?"
A. "They met at university."

However, if the conversation had involved a specific university, then it might go like this:
1. "I didn't realise he went to Cambridge."
2. "Actually, he met his wife at the university."

(Would be more likely to say "He met his wife there", but that doesn't illustrate the point).