Come "to" or "at" an intersection

Abecedarian · Tue Jul 19, 2005 18:45 pm *Come "to" or "at" an intersection*

Which of the two is correct and why

As I was driving I came at an intersection and decided to turn left
or
As I was driving I came to an intersection and decided to turn left

Also is it right to start the sentence with "As I was driving." Is there a better way to start the sentence with but convey the same meaning?.

Thanks very much

Rich7 · Tue Jul 19, 2005 19:49 pm Ok

My guess is gonna be " come to" just because the most common use of "come at" is attack somebody.

Mister Micawber · Sat Jul 23, 2005 17:31 pm *Come "to" or "at" an intersection*

.
'To' is a preposition of motion, and 'come' is a verb of motion-- 'I came to school', 'I came to my senses'.

'At' is a preposition of location, and is used with stative verbs-- 'I sat at the station', 'I arrived at the airport'.

'As I was driving' is fine, but perhaps redundant.
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_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

Abecedarian · Mon Jul 25, 2005 19:45 pm *Come "to" or "at" an intersection*

Mister Micawber · Tue Jul 26, 2005 7:36 am *Come "to" or "at" an intersection*

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Yes, those are right, ABCDarian. Any good grammar book should have a section on the types of prepositions; you can also google for them, and come up with such sites as THIS ONE. (I called them 'prepositions of motion', but here they are called 'prepositions of direction'.)

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_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mister Micawber

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