| A |
In hospital / at work etc.
We say that somebody is in hospital / in prison / in jail:
- Anna's mother is in hospital.
We say that somebody is at work / at school / at university / at college:
- I'll be at work until 5.30.
- Julia is studying chemistry at university.
We say that somebody is at home or is home (with or without at), but we say do something at home (with at):
- I'll be at home all evening. or I'll be home all evening.
- Shall we go to a restaurant or eat at home?
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| B |
At a party / at a concert etc.
We say that somebody is at an event (at a party / at a conference etc.):
- Were there many people at the party / at the meeting / at the wedding?
- I saw Steve at a conference / at a concert on Saturday.
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| C |
In and at for buildings
You can often use in or at with buildings. For example, you can eat in a restaurant or at a restaurant; you can buy something in a supermarket or at a supermarket. We usually say at when we say where an event takes place (for example: a concert, a film, a party, a meeting):
- We went to a concert at the National Concert Hall.
- The meeting took place at the company's head office in Frankfurt.
- There was a robbery at the supermarket.
We say at the station / at the airport:
- There's no need to meet me at the station. I can get a taxi.
We say at somebody's house:
- I was at Helen's house last night. or I was at Helen's last night.
Also at the doctor's / at the hairdresser's etc.
We use in when we are thinking about the building itself. Compare:
- We had dinner at the hotel.
All the rooms in the hotel have air conditioning. (not at the hotel)
- I was at Helen's (house) last night.
It's always cold in Helen's house. The heating doesn't work well. (not at Helen's house)
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| D |
In and at for towns etc.
We normally use in with cities, towns and villages:
- The Louvre is a famous art museum in Paris. (not at Paris)
- Sam's parents live in a village in the south of France. (not at a village)
We use at when we think of the place as a point or station on a journey:
- Does this train stop at Oxford? (= at Oxford station)
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| E |
On a bus / in a car etc.
We usually say on a bus / on a train / on a plane / on a ship but in a car / in a taxi:
- The bus was very full. There were too many people on it.
- Laura arrived in a taxi.
We say on a bike (= bicycle) / on a motorbike / on a horse:
- Jane passed me on her bike.
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