at/in II

[A Amanda]

I ended up sleeping on a bench (at/in) the station.

To me, "in" should be used when I would like to emphasize that the bench is within the bounded station area, whereas, "at" is used when the building(station) itself is not mentioned in the context.

sometimes, I am quite confused about it. Could somebody be my pole star ?

 

[billmcd]

If someone made the statement to me with "in", I would infer that the person slept inside an enclosed station area/the building. If they used "at", I would infer that the person slept outside, but in the immediate area of the station.

 

[kfredson]

I ended up sleeping on a bench (at/in) the station.

To me, "in" should be used when I would like to emphasize that the bench is within the bounded station area, whereas, "at" is used when the building(station) itself is not mentioned in the context.

sometimes, I am quite confused about it. Could somebody be my pole star ?

I am not sure what you mean when you say, "when the building(station) itself is not mentioned in the context."

However, I would agree that "in" implies that the bench is within the station building. I would say that "at the station" could refer either to a bench inside or outside the station. For instance, you might have the following conversation:
"Where did you find the bench?"
"At the station."
I would then want to know whether it was inside the building or outside. It is not totally clear to me.

 

[The French]

I ended up sleeping on a bench (at/in) the station.

To me, "in" should be used when I would like to emphasize that the bench is within the bounded station area, whereas, "at" is used when the building(station) itself is not mentioned in the context.

sometimes, I am quite confused about it. Could somebody be my pole star ?

Hello Amanda,

I am not a teacher, but your question is not very clear, I reckon the thing is to know where is you bench, inside or outside the station, maybe inside it's better if you want to have warm place to sleep (I am joking with you but at normally is used for precise location and in like in the box).:-D

See you later.