Language/English/Grammar/At:-place
"At" is used to talk about position at a point[edit | edit source]
Examples:
It's very hot at the centre of the earth.
Turn right at the next corner.
Sometimes we use "at" with a larger place, if we just think of this as a point: a stage on a journey or a meeting place, for example.[edit | edit source]
Compare:
- The plane stops for an hour at/in Frankfurt, (a point on a journey)
She lives in Frankfurt, (somebody’s home) (not she lives at Frankfurt.)
- Let’s meet at the club, (a meeting point)
It was warm and comfortable in the club, (a place to spend time)
We very often use "at" before the name of a building, when we are thinking not of the building itself but of the activity that happens there.[edit | edit source]
Examples:
I first heard her sing at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.
Eat at the Steak House - best food in town.
Sorry I didn't call last night - I was at the theatre.
"At" is particularly common with proper names used for buildings or organisations.[edit | edit source]
Compare:
- I first met your father at/in Harrods.
I first met your father in a shop.
- She works at Legal and General Insurance.
She works in a big insurance company.
"At" is used to say where people study.[edit | edit source]
Example:
He's at the London School of Economics.
We use "at" with the name of a city to talk about the city’s university[edit | edit source]
Compare:
He’s a student at Oxford.
He lives in Cambridge.
"At" is also used before the names of group activities.[edit | edit source]
at a party; at a meeting; at a concert; at a lecture; at the match
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Positions of Pronouns in Sentences
- How to Use Have
- Adverbs of Time
- How Do Silent Letters Work?
- Difference between Mood Tense Voice
- More on Tautology
- Different Forms of the Verbs
- Collocations with keep
- Double Object Verbs (Ditransitive verbs)
- When use If or Whether