state difference between in and at
Answers
Both ‘at’ and ‘in’ are prepositions of place and time. They are used in many ways to express time and place.
We use at mainly with:
- public places/buildings: at the airport, the bus stop, the Grand Hotel.
- addresses: at his sister's, 24 Cedar Avenue.
- nouns with zero article: at home, church, college, school, university
- events: at a concert, a dance, a dinner, a funeral, a meeting, a party, a wedding.
- exact time: at 10 o'clock; meal times: at lunch time; points of time: at night.
-festivals: at Christmas; age: at the age of 14; + 'time': at this/that time.
Example sentences:
He is at a party.
He was at a party.
My plane leaves at noon.
The movie starts at 6 p.m.
We use in mainly with:
- large areas: in Europe, Asia, the Antarctic, the Andes, the Sahara, Texas.
- towns/parts of towns: in Canterbury, Chelsea, Dallas, Manhattan.
- outside areas: in the garden, the park, Hyde Park, the street, the old town.
- rooms: in the bathroom, his bedroom, the garage, the kitchen.
- nouns with zero article: in bed, chapel, church, hospital, prison.
-parts of the day: in the evening; months: in May; years: in 2050; seasons:
-in (the) spring; centuries: in the 20th century; periods: in Ramadan.
Example sentences:
He is in Delhi.
There is a wasp in the room.
He likes to read in the afternoon.
The days are long in August.
The book was published in 1999.
The flowers will bloom in spring.
These are just a few of the many ways in which ‘at’ and ‘in’ are used.