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#1
01-04-2007, 06:41 PM
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grammar question regarding the use of \"at\" and \"in\"
my girlfriend called me and asked where i was. i said "i'm at the gym". it then dawned on me that i could also have said "i'm IN the gym" and that would have been an appropriate sentence too.
but if she had called me and asked where i was and i had been sitting in a cardboard box, it would be fine for me to say "i'm in a cardboard box" but would sound weird if i said "i'm AT a cardboard box" "i'm in my house" and "i'm at my house" both sound fine, but if you were on a road trip and i called you asking where you were, you would say "i'm in north carolina" but never "i'm AT north carolina" what's the rule here that i can't seem to figure out in my head regarding what makes at or in appropriate? 
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#4
01-04-2007, 06:47 PM
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Re: grammar question regarding the use of \"at\" and \"in\"
It sounds peculiar with an indefinite object, "I am at THE box" sounds fine. "I am at a house" sounds strange.
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#5
01-04-2007, 06:51 PM
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Re: grammar question regarding the use of \"at\" and \"in\"
my girlfriend is so fat that when she sits around the house, she sits around the house.
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#6
01-04-2007, 06:52 PM
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Re: grammar question regarding the use of \"at\" and \"in\"
[ QUOTE ]
my girlfriend called me and asked where i was. i said "i'm at the gym". [/ QUOTE ] LOLZ
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#7
01-04-2007, 07:01 PM
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Re: grammar question regarding the use of \"at\" and \"in\"
[ QUOTE ]
my girlfriend called me and asked where i was. i said "i'm at the gym". it then dawned on me that i could also have said "i'm IN the gym" and that would have been an appropriate sentence too. but if she had called me and asked where i was and i had been sitting in a cardboard box, it would be fine for me to say "i'm in a cardboard box" but would sound weird if i said "i'm AT a cardboard box" "i'm in my house" and "i'm at my house" both sound fine, but if you were on a road trip and i called you asking where you were, you would say "i'm in north carolina" but never "i'm AT north carolina" what's the rule here that i can't seem to figure out in my head regarding what makes at or in appropriate? [/ QUOTE ] IMO, both "I'm in the gym" and "I'm in my house" both sound strange unless the caller has some question regarding whether you're inside or outside of the gym or house. They don't sound completely wrong, but definitely less right than saying you're at the gym or house. The North Carolina example can be used for cities, too (you wouldn't say you were at New York City). I guess that's because, while you can be within the NYC city limits or NC state borders, there really isn't a specific and locatable "New York City" or "North Carolina" for you to be at--IOW they're areas you're either inside of or not.
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#8
01-04-2007, 07:04 PM
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Re: grammar question regarding the use of \"at\" and \"in\"
"in" --> physical location
"at" --> visiting, using, attending "In the gym". Where you are located. "At the gym". There to work out.
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#9
01-04-2007, 07:05 PM
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Re: grammar question regarding the use of \"at\" and \"in\"
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] my girlfriend called me and asked where i was. i said "i'm at the gym". [/ QUOTE ] LOLZ [/ QUOTE ]
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#10
01-04-2007, 07:05 PM
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Re: grammar question regarding the use of \"at\" and \"in\"
[ QUOTE ]
my girlfriend called me and asked where i was. i said "i'm at the gym". it then dawned on me that i could also have said "i'm IN the gym" and that would have been an appropriate sentence too. [/ QUOTE ] Both are acceptable prepositions. In your context "at the gym" refers to a broader answer (as opposed to 'at home,' or 'at the store'). If both of you were in a school, for example, and she was in the cafeteria, your answer "I am in the gym" would be a specific location.
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