Back there= physical location?

[Ashraful Haque]

"I forgot my bag back at the mall."
"Why did you lie back at the immigration."
"Sorry I couldn't hold back my anger back there."

I think we use this phrase to talk about physical locations. Please let me know if I used 'back there' in all the three sentences correctly.

 

[Tarheel]

Yes, they are all good.

 

[Barque]

The first and third seem fine to me.

"Why did you lie back at the immigration."

This is a question and you need a question mark, not a full stop.

Why did you lie, back at Immigration?

 

[probus]

Please let me know if I used 'back there' in all the three sentences correctly.

Actually you only used it once, in your third sentence. (No "there" in the first two,) But you could have used it in all three and it would have been correct.

 

[Tarheel]

The first and third seem fine to me.



This is a question and you need a question mark, not a full stop.

Why did you lie, back at Immigration?

Three things. You're right, of course, about the question mark. No to the comma after lie. Yes to dropping the before immigration.

 

[Rover_KE]

"I forgot my bag back at the mall."

This isn't colloquial in British English.

Most BE speakers would say 'I left my bag (back there) at the mall'. ('Back there' is possible but unlikely.)

 

[Barque]

I agree. I wouldn't use it myself, and I'd probably say the same thing as Rover. I believe from what I've seen that it's acceptable in AmE.

 

[Tarheel]

Yes, Americans do say that. ("I left my bag at the mall" is also possible of course.)

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Three things. You're right, of course, about the question mark. No to the comma after lie. Yes to dropping the before immigration.

I've heard a native speaker say "I'm at the immigration." Is is wrong to use 'the' before immigration?

 

[probus]

It's not very common in my variety, but it's certainly not wrong. We'd normally say "I'm at immigration" or "... at the immigration checkpoint".

 

[emsr2d2]

I've heard a native speaker say "I'm at the immigration." Is is wrong to use 'the' before immigration?

It's wrong.

 

[Barque]

Is is wrong to use 'the' before immigration?

"Immigration" here is a name--the name of the area where the Immigration officers checking passenger documentation sit.

I'm at Immigration.
I'm at the immigration counter.

You don't have to capitalise it but I wouldn't use "the".

 

[probus]

I'd be glad to know why two of my most highly esteemed colleagues think that a native speaker was wrong. I thought all our currently active teachers were descriptivists. To me that implies that we consider whatever native speakers normally say to be correct.

 

[emsr2d2]

Native speakers make mistakes as well. Having spent 20 years of my working life at airports, I can assure the OP that the correct forms are:

I'm at Immigration/I'm at passport control.
I'm at Customs.
I'm at check-in.

As Barque suggested a couple of posts ago, if you add another word, you need the article.

I'm at the Immigration desk.
I'm in the Customs hall.
I'm at the check-in desk.

 

[Barque]

I'm at Customs.

Right. I was thinking of the same example. We wouldn't say "It's been held up at the customs". We'd say "It'd been held up at Customs". The same principle applies to 'Immigration' too. They're specific departments, or places in a port/airport where those departments conduct their business.

 

[5jj]

I'd be glad to know why two of my most highly esteemed colleagues think that a native speaker was wrong.

Three.

To me that implies that we consider whatever native speakers normally say to be correct.

It does not imply that to me.

 

[Tdol]

I agree. I wouldn't use it myself, and I'd probably say the same thing as Rover. I believe from what I've seen that it's acceptable in AmE.

You'll hear some BrE speakers use it too, but many dislike it.