THE ART OF SPEAKING AMERICAN ENGLISH (5 page)
Read THE ART OF SPEAKING AMERICAN ENGLISH Online
Authors: Stephen Stratton
2. (A) and (B) essentially mean the same thing in conversational English, but strictly speaking, the preposition
on
expresses
the top of the mountain
as a (flat) separate
plane
than that of the entire mountain
(Note:
A
is seldom said), while the preposition
at
expresses the top of the mountain as
a point
/location
on a plane
(more exact).
 |  |
| A. He is on (plane) the top of mountain. | B. He is at (a point on a plane) the top of the mountain. |
IV. Basic Contrast Of Prepositions
in
And
at
1. The subjects in
A
and
B
are correctly said to be
at
the top of
the mountain and
at
the bottom of
the mountain
(
two points on a
single plane
)
.
| A . The individual is at the top of the mountain. | B. The individual is at the bottom of the mountain. |
 |  |
2. When prepositions
in
and
at
cannot be effectively used to accurately pinpoint location.
The location of the subject (
C 1,2
)
cannot
be expressed by simply saying
The individual is
in
the middle of
the mountain, nor He is
at
the middle of
the mountain
.
If the preposition
in
were used here, it would indicate the subject is literally
somewhere inside
the mountain (see
figure C
.
Pg. 28
), and using the
preposition
at
, would indicate the subject is
inside
the mountain
at its center
(→
at the center of the mountain)
.
The
halfway up
and
halfway down
, up
and
down
, being used as prepositions here, accomplish what prepositions
in
and
at
fail to do.
| C1 .The individual is half way up the mountain (if the subject is headed up the mountain, or stationary). | C2. The individual is half way down mountain (if the subject is headed down the mountain or stationary). |
 |  |
V. Detailed Contrast Of Prepositions
in
And
at
The preposition
in
is used in 4 distinct ways to express location, while the preposition
at
is generally used in one way to express location.
*Note:
in
(general area
←
area)
is covered in (
Basics P. 25
)
.
| in | at |
| 1. General Area/Region (Siberia, China, Amazon Jungle) | 1. Specific Location (Eiffel Tower, Osaka University, One’s home) |
| 2. Specific Area (a room, the corner in a room, etc.) | |
| 3. Enclosure (cage, warehouse, etc.) | |
| 4. Receptacle (cup, bottle, etc.) Example: There’s a fly in the coffee in the cup on the table . |
Example Figures and Explanations:
1. On the left the speaker and his brother are
at
the same
specific location
but
in
different
specific areas
within
the
specific location
. On the right the speaker and his brother are
at
different
specific-locations
.
| I’m IN the front yard and my brother in the house . | I’m AT work, and my is brother is at home . |
2. On the left, the
speaker, his brother
, and
cat
are all
at
the same
specific location
, but
in
different
specific areas
within
the
specific location
. On the right, the
speaker, his brother
, and
sister
are
at
different
specific-locations
.
| I’m IN the kitchen, my brother is | I’m AT the beach, my brother |
| in the front yard, and the cat is | is at the store, and my sister is |
| iN the corner of the living room . | aT home . |
Example conversations
Scenario A
Let’s imagine that a scientist tells his wife when he gets home that he has forgotten his wallet at work. On the telephone, using the preposition
at
the scientists first draws a distinction between two
specific locations
, his
home
where he and his wife are at the moment, and his
company
where he left his wallet. He then calls the company and has the following brief conversation with a colleague. The scientist uses the preposition
in
to draw a distinction between the
specific areas
within the company, a
specific location
.