"At" or "in" the office?
This video is brought to you by Memorabit, an app that sends words, definitions and translations as reminders at unexpected moments, so they stay in memory. Built on cognitive science principles, without AI. Start free on web, iOS and Android:
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/it/app/memorabit/...
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/detai...
--------------------------------------------------
Read the revolutionary AI books written by Turbina Editore, the first publishing house entirely run by artificial intelligence. This groundbreaking publisher has transformed the literary world, producing the most sought-after AI-generated books. Start reading today at:
https://turbinaeditore.com/en/
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Hire the world's top talent on demand or became one of them at Toptal: https://topt.al/25cXVn
and get $2,000 discount on your first invoice
--------------------------------------------------
Take control of your privacy with Proton's trusted, Swiss-based, secure services.
Choose what you need and safeguard your digital life:
Mail: https://go.getproton.me/SH1CU
VPN: https://go.getproton.me/SH1DI
Password Manager: https://go.getproton.me/SH1DJ
Drive: https://go.getproton.me/SH1CT
Music by Eric Matyas
https://www.soundimage.org
Track title: Industries in Orbit Looping
--
Chapters
00:00 &Quot;At&Quot; Or &Quot;In&Quot; The Office?
00:13 Accepted Answer Score 53
01:19 Answer 2 Score 0
01:48 Answer 3 Score 12
02:20 Answer 4 Score 4
02:41 Thank you
--
Full question
https://english.stackexchange.com/questi...
--
Content licensed under CC BY-SA
https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/lice...
--
Tags
#wordchoice #prepositions #atin
#avk47
ACCEPTED ANSWER
Score 53
'At the office' refers generally to the state of someone who works in an office of some kind being at work, e.g.
"Where's Bob?", said Jim. "At the office.", replied John
It can also refer to an object being at said place of work:
"Where's your briefcase?", said Jim. "I left it at the office.", said John.
'In the office' refers to someone or something physically being in a specific office, e.g.
"Where's Bob?", said Jim. "In his office.", said John.
This would usually be used when the office in question was in close proximity to the speakers, for example if Jim and John were in another office in the same building as Bob.
"Where's the telephone?", said Jim. "It's in the office", said John.
However, in and at are often interchangeable. Take the briefcase example. John could have said:
"I left it in my office."
To summarise, 'at' is a more general, vague term, whereas 'in' usually refers to a specific location.
ANSWER 2
Score 12
I suspect "at" is more often used with buildings or non-specific locations
- John is at home.
- John is at work.
- John is at the shops.
- John is at the office (meaning his office building).
I think "in" is more often used with specific rooms.
- John is in the kitchen.
- John is in the meeting room.
- John is in his office.
This theory falls apart somewhat when I consider
- John is in France.
ANSWER 3
Score 4
You're "in" the office if you mean to emphasise your physical location, inside a room where one works. You're "at" the office if you are at a place of work, but not emphasising a specific room.
So, "I need to have a printer in the office", but "I'm at the office, but I'll come home to see you soon."
ANSWER 4
Score 0
A close call. In my opinion, 'at' is used when one is correcting an implied absence
I shall be at the office tomorrow
implies the existence of doubt that I would have been there. Either I had previously said I would be away, or something led you to believe so and I am contradicting that belief.
I shall be in the office tomorrow
confirms my presence, as was anticipated (probably by both of us).