Question

Updated on 10 Feb 2023

brandun

31 January

Simplified Chinese (China)

English (US)
English (UK)

Question about English (US)

Which preposition best fits this blank, “in”, “at” or “of”?
This is the largest room ____ my house.

Answers

alterp123

31 January

English (US)

in

brandun

31 January

Simplified Chinese (China)

@alterp123 Thanks. Is “at” or “of” correct though?

marquisw

31 January

English (US)

@branduhn no, only in is correct

brandun

31 January

Simplified Chinese (China)

@marquisw Could you explain? Why are “at” and “of” incorrect?

alterp123

31 January

English (US)

at - is used for specifying location for top, bottom or end of something, at a specific address, etc

e.g. John is at the corner; I live at 123 ABC street, asdf city etc

of - shows ownership but you already have my house so it's quite redundant " of my"

brandun

31 January

Simplified Chinese (China)

@alterp123 Thanks for the explanation. If we can’t say “this is the largest room AT my house”, why can we say “Tom is AT my house”?

Both sentences include “my house”, why does the first sentence need to use “in my house”?

alterp123

31 January

English (US)

you are specifying the location at which Tom is and the context is more concerned with location. while "in" is more concerned with the context of space e.g. house, room, bag, something that you can get/put inside

brandun

31 January

Simplified Chinese (China)

@alterp123 So based on what you said, “Tom is IN my house” is also natural, right? Because he is literally inside my house.

alterp123

31 January

English (US)

@branduhn yes

brandun

31 January

Simplified Chinese (China)

@alterp123 Hmm, then why do Americans prefer to say “Tom is AT my house” though?

marquisw

31 January

English (US)

@branduhn "at" is used when you are talking about locations - usually locations on a map. It its less specific than "in", "on", "under", etc.

I am at the supermarket.
He is at the corner.
Mary is at the library.
Tom is at Mary's house.

You wouldn't use "at" for more specific locations:

The book is on the table.
The cups are in the cupboard.
I am in my chair.

You can use "in" or "outside" if you want to be more specific, but it may cause the reader to question why you are being more specific than necessary.

When Mary got home from the library, she found Tom waiting at her house.

In this example, the reader would assume that Tom is waiting outside the door. But it isn't specified.

When Mary got home from the library, she found Tom waiting in her house.

This example is correct, grammatically, and could be used to emphasize that Tom is inside the house, rather than outside. But if you just say "Tom is in my house", it feels unnatural unless you indicate why you are being more specific than necessary.

brandun

31 January

Simplified Chinese (China)

@marquisw Thank you for the excellent explanation! I’d like to ask you though, since “at my house”, “at her house” or something like that is more natural even though it is not very specific, I think the following blank should take “at”. Why does “in” go in here instead?

This is the largest room ____ my house.

kungfumastershindo

4 February

English (US)

"of" I would say. I think marquisw is referring to "of" being incorrect in grammar, not in naturalness. If you say "of", it doesn't sound wrong to me.

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Which preposition best fits this blank, “in”, “at” or “of”?This is the largest room ____ my house. See a translation

in

@branduhn no, only in is correct

at - is used for specifying location for top, bottom or end of something, at a specific address, etce.g. John is at the corner; I live at 123 ABC street, asdf city etcof - shows ownership but you already have my house so it's quite redundant " of my"

you are specifying the location at which Tom is and the context is more concerned with location. while "in" is more concerned with the context of space e.g. house, room, bag, something that you can get/put inside

@branduhn yes

"of" I would say. I think marquisw is referring to "of" being incorrect in grammar, not in naturalness. If you say "of", it doesn't sound wrong to me.

Which preposition best fits this blank, “in”, “at” or “of”?
This is the largest room ____ my house.

at - is used for specifying location for top, bottom or end of something, at a specific address, etc

e.g. John is at the corner; I live at 123 ABC street, asdf city etc

of - shows ownership but you already have my house so it's quite redundant " of my"