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#2 (permalink) Tue Aug 22, 2006 15:32 pm Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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. Grammatically, both in and at are possible, but semantically, a coffee shop is not a domicile. . _________________ Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's |
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Mister Micawber Language Coach

Joined: 17 Jul 2005 Posts: 8389 Location: Yokohama, Japan
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#3 (permalink) Thu Nov 30, 2006 3:53 am Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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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 |
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Haihao I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 1479 Location: Chiba, Japan
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#4 (permalink) Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:37 am Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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. 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 |
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Mister Micawber Language Coach

Joined: 17 Jul 2005 Posts: 8389 Location: Yokohama, Japan
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#5 (permalink) Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:56 am Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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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..., :oops: , please forgive... :cry:
haiaho |
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Haihao I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 1479 Location: Chiba, Japan
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#6 (permalink) Sun Aug 24, 2008 15:17 pm Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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| Does this "by the shop" means "near the shop" ? |
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Marko I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 14
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#7 (permalink) Sun Aug 24, 2008 15:23 pm Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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Hi Marko,
Yes, 'by' means 'near' in this context.
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Hi MM
I agree with your take on the prepositions, but would like to mention the missing comma after 'Suzanne'. . |
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8265 Location: USA
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#8 (permalink) Wed Sep 23, 2009 22:03 pm Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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hi, I think this sentence is having an ambiguity interpretation. thanks for your efforts. |
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English Teacher You can meet me at english-test.net

Joined: 22 Aug 2009 Posts: 62 Location: Palestine
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#9 (permalink) Mon Dec 07, 2009 17:22 pm Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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I think (Suzanne who lives "by" that coffee shop place) by means work (She works to the coffee shop for struggle of life).
Thanks Amy for your explanation. |
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Watie I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 11 Nov 2009 Posts: 136 Location: Indonesia
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#10 (permalink) Sat Dec 19, 2009 22:51 pm Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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Please activate Javascript in your browser to listen to this audio recording | 8 Listened |
Hi Watie
'By' in this sentence does not denote that the person works in the coffee shop. It simply means that she lives (her house is) near that coffee shop. However, in other languages (like in German) by (bei) might be used to suggest that the person works in a specific company but in English 'for' is used in such sentences:
He works for Siemens (or She is with Siemens).
Good luck! Ali |
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Aliraf62 You can meet me at english-test.net

Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 54 Location: Malaysia
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#11 (permalink) Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:53 am Live at a place vs. live by a place |
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| So many thanks Ali for your explanations.. |
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Watie I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 11 Nov 2009 Posts: 136 Location: Indonesia
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