At and In
He is at home. (denotes rest)
He is at his office. (denotes 'on duty'/'at work' - A. L. D.– Hornby
He is in the office (denotes inside the office - Oxford Guide to Eng. Grammar- Eastwood)
Difference of At and In
At | In |
(1) We use at for a position at a small space. You can be at home/at school/at a hotel/at the bus stop/at Lalpur (village)/ at Midnapur (town). "We were at the cafe." (expresses position) - John East wood. (2) We use at office/library/ cinema/theatre/building etc. when we are talking about the normal purpose of it. He is at the office. (=on duty) The Browns are at the theatre. ( = watching a play). "We were at the library. (=choosing a book)." - Oxford Guide to English Grammar. - John Eastwood. (3) We use at for a point of time. You can meet me at 10 o'clock/at 8 a.m./at 4 p.m. at half past five/at breakfast (time)/ at down/at noon (short span of time)/at that time/at the moment. We also use at with holiday periods of two or three days at Christmas/at the weekend [For Advanced Learners] (4) *At is one-dimensional. We use it when we see something as a point in space - John Eastwood. The car was waiting at the lights. There is someone at the door. | (1) We use in for a position in a large space. You can be in Calcutta (city)/in Delhi/in London/in country/in a forest/in a desert (2) We use in office/in the office etc. when it denotes simply inside the building or position within. He is in the office (=inside the office) He is not in office now. (=in position) The Browns are in the theatre to meet some one. "It was cold in the library. (= inside the bulding)" -Oxford Guide to English Gramma-John Eastwood. (3) We use in for a period of time. You can meet me in the morning/in the afternoon/in the evening in the next few days in the summer holidays/ in spring/in July/in 1995. He will come in an hour. Exception: at night. Note : We use on with a single day-on Sunday, on Tuesday afternoon. on that day, on the 7th August, on the evening of the 12th. (4) "In is three dimensional. We use it when we see something as all around." I had five pounds in my pocket. There was a man sitting in the waiting room. - John Eastwood. |
