A doubt regarding the usage of in/at

[Siddshan]

Which of the following two sentences is correct :

I am having my lunch in royal palace.
or
I am having my lunch at royal palace.

How do we decide upon the usage of in and at.

Thanks and regards

[Alan]

Hi,

'In' is usually inside a big place and 'at' in a small place.

They live in Paris but they used to live at Attingbourn, a small village outside Birmingham.

Alan
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[Ched133]

how do you determine the size? big place or small place?

example,

i live in the US
i live in California
i live in Los Angeles
i live in Orange County
i live in the Brookside Community
i live in my mom's backyard

There are all "in"

[Siddshan]

Hi Alan,
Thanks for the reply. My doubt is whether this is applicable to restaurants too. I mean from your answer shall i infer that if the restaurant is big one "in" would be used else "at" shall be used?

Please Clarify this .
Thanks and regards.

[Yankee]

Here are some examples of American usage:

- I work at IBM in the Accounting Department.
- I live in Connecticut.
- I live in Union, which has a population of only 693.
- I live in New York City, which has a population of about 8 million.
- I stayed at the Ritz while I was in NY.
- I had dinner in my room.
- I had dinner at the Gotham Bar and Grill.
- The annual Easter Egg Roll took place at the White House last week.
- The view from my office in the Empire State Building is magnificent.
- He is at the park.
- He often goes jogging in Central Park.
- He is at the airport in the departure lounge.
- He is waiting at the gate.
.

[Torsten]

Hi Amy,

I think your sentences would be perfectly correct in British English too, maybe even in Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Irish English.
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[Yankee]

.
Well, I would not say "I live at Union" -- even though it is a tiny little town. Based on what Alan wrote, that appears to be a difference.

Even if I lived in a town with a population under 100, I would use 'in'.
.

[Alan]

Hi,

Without getting into the size factor, I was trying to differentiate between 'in' and 'at' in the broadest sense for the benefit of our friend, Siddshan. I agree with Torsten that there's precious little difference between the uses listed by Yankee and those that would be used anywhere else. Possibly the locals of the smallest village in the world might well say that they live in it but no doubt that would cause mild amusement to those who live in a big city.

Alan
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[Yankee]

.
To me, what a city slicker might find humorous about a very small town would not be the use of the preposition 'in', but rather simply the size (or lack thereof) itself.

On the other hand, using the word 'at' instead of 'in' would sound odd to me. It would not sound 'normal' to my ear. I have no problem if you Brits like using 'at' that way, but don't expect me to find 'in' anything but normal on this side of the pond.

It's clear from some of the tests that you don't know all that much about AmE, Alan. And that's OK. After all, you speak British English and have never visited the US. It should come as no surprise to anybody that Brits can generally best describe BE and Americans can best describe AmE. I do not disagree that much is the same when you compare various "versions" English. However, there ARE differences between AmE and BE, and I think it wrong and misleading to pretend there aren't.

The differences run the gamut from extremely minor to large enough to lead to misunderstanding (or worse, no comprehension at all). We've had this conversation quite a few times before. It's become obvious to me that you will never be able to accept the fact that we actually say some things quite differently over here. Especially if one of those differences happens to come to light in one of your tests, it seems you'd prefer to simply lead people to believe that a perfectly acceptable American usage is only incorrect.

There are actually things that might sound quite normal in BE that would sound quite odd or even wrong in AmE. I'm sure the opposite is true as well.
.

[Prezbucky]

there's at least one difference -- in reference to the use of antecendents -- between British and American English. It has to do with hospitals:

Brit: I'll be in/at hospital this evening.

American: I'll be in/at the hospital this evening.
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[Alan]

Hi,

[Prezbucky]

Alan, if you ever decide to visit the States and require inexpensive lodging, holler at me and i'll set you up in my guest bedroom.

It's got an inflatable matress. hehe
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[Alan]

Hi Prezbucky,

Thanks for the offer but then how could I possibly make myself understood with my basic British English? Would the natives understand me?

Alan
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[Yankee]

.
I have stated what seems obvious to me.

Why not put your money where your mouth is, then? Isn't it possible to change tests such as the one in which the word 'line' is presented as an error because 'queue' is supposedly the only correct answer? What about the test that presents 'cubicle' as the supposedly typical or standard word for the place in a clothing store where you can try clothes on? That usage of the word 'cubicle' sounds just about as probable as 'cabin' does to my American ears. I can't recall ever having heard anyone over here refer to a 'fitting room' or a 'dressing room' as a 'cubicle'. When I hear the word 'cubicle', the first thing I think of is a corporate office (and Dilbert).
Cubicle Paradise

[Prezbucky]

Alan, good point -- you'd have some down here asking you if you're from Germany, France or Italy.

hehe

(they might not know any better)
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