[Grammar] at / in the office / hospital / school / etc

Status
Not open for further replies.

tyrp

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Ukraine
Current Location
Ukraine
Hello!
What's the difference between 'at' and 'in' with the words 'hospital', 'office', 'school', 'firm', 'company' if any? Do they bring any difference in meaning or is only one of them correct with some of these words?
E.g. He works at (the?) university (will the U be capital?) / at school / at the office / at the firm / at the company.
Can we use 'in' in all the cases above? Thank you so much!!!
 

Champleon

Senior Member
Joined
May 19, 2014
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Spain
Current Location
Spain
Hello,
Warning!: I'm not a teacher.

At (occupation, organization, place of work…)
In (kind of building, the inside of a building, the building itself…)

She is at hospital (she works there)
She is in hospital (she is ill)
We also may be working in a factory. However, if we are at hospital, school, the office, the firm or company premises; we are working there.

Your E.g. He works at university…

You cannot use “in” instead of “at” with any of the sequenced words, with the exception of the word “hospital”, bearing in mind the difference in meaning mentioned above.
 

tyrp

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Ukraine
Current Location
Ukraine
Thank you so much, Joaquin Garcia Navarro. One last thing concerns that word 'hospital' again: do we not use 'the' with it when talking about the activity not typical of it (not being ill, but working there)?
E.g. He is in hospital (ill). She works at the hospital. She is at the hospital now, working.
Do we not need 'the' here? Thank you again!
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
You need 'the' after 'at' in the above examples.
 

tyrp

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Ukraine
Current Location
Ukraine
Thank you, dear Rover_KE. What about the original post and problem? Will you kindly help me there as well?)
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Each of the locations you mention needs a separate thread. There are too many variations to consider all at once.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top