Live at a place vs. live by a place

[harries]

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #82 "Prepositons Test", question 4

Suzanne who lives ......... that coffee shop place, came over to visit you this morning.

(a) on
(b) by
(c) at
(d) in

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #82 "Prepositons Test", answer 4

Suzanne who lives by that coffee shop place, came over to visit you this morning.

Correct answer: (b) by
_________________________

Is it possible to use at in the same sentence?

harries

[Mister Micawber]

.
Grammatically, both in and at are possible, but semantically, a coffee shop is not a domicile.
.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Haihao]

Hi,

Could 'that coffee shop place' refer to 'that place in which the coffee shop is ' so that both in and at are possible not only grammatically but realistically as well?

haihao

[Mister Micawber]

.
Pursue probabilities, not possibilities, Haohai. Any of the prepositions given could be possible, but three of them are highly unlikely.

One of the most common failings of my students in trying to understand English is not using common sense-- they seem to think that the semantics of English works on a different logic than Japanese, and are thrown into a bear pit every time they meet words or situations that have more than one possible interpretation.
.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Haihao]

Thank you for your advice, Mr Micawber. I would and should be more on my guard against the bad habit of spliting hairs instead of using common sense in learning English. But..., sometimes, it may relapse..., , please forgive...

haiaho

[Marko]

Does this "by the shop" means "near the shop" ?

[Yankee]

Hi Marko,

Yes, 'by' means 'near' in this context.

.................................................

Hi MM

I agree with your take on the prepositions, but would like to mention the missing comma after 'Suzanne'.
.

[English Teacher]

hi,
I think this sentence is having an ambiguity interpretation.
thanks for your efforts.