The Meaning and Use of the Preposition ‘At’

This post details the use of the preposition ‘at’. Prepositions are often small words that play a vital role in sentence structure and meaning. They help establish relationships between different elements in a sentence, such as nouns, pronouns and phrases, by indicating location, time, direction, possession and much more. Prepositions can be challenging for non-native speakers of English due to their nuanced use. Because prepositions tend to vary across languages, it is very difficult to give an exclusive translation from say Dutch to English, or Spanish to English, and one preposition frequently translates to two or three in the other language, and vice versa.

Mastering prepositions is essential for clear and accurate communication because the use of an inappropriate preposition in combination with a certain verb can distinctly alter the intended meaning of a sentence. Learning the various contexts in which prepositions are used is the mark of an advanced speaker of a language, but sometimes it can seem like tossing the ball on a roulette wheel when deciding which preposition to go for! Like vocabulary, prepositions are learned by imitation and internalisation by first language learners (the mother tongue) and for second language learners this process is slower and more tedious.

This website already includes a post on the parts of speech and the basics about prepositions can be read there. There are around 150 prepositions altogether in the English language, but the most commonly used and confused are ‘along’, ‘at’, ‘by’, ‘during’, ‘for’, ‘from’, ‘in’, ‘of’, ‘on’, ‘to’ and ‘with’.

This post is going to focus on the first of these prepositions: at.

a roulette wheel

The word ‘at’

The word ‘at’ in Old English had a far broader use. It was written ‘æt’ and was used to indicate ‘in’, ‘at’ or ‘near’. This Old English ‘æt’ can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic ‘*at’, which had similar meanings of ‘at’ or ‘near’. There was a separate word for ‘in’. Proto-Germanic is the reconstructed ancestral language from which all the Germanic languages, such as English, Swedish and Dutch, are believed to have descended.

Over time, the word ‘at’ has retained its basic sense of indicating a specific location in space and has also come to serve various other functions, including location, time, price, rate, or to indicate activity (He’s good at playing the piano). In many languages a different preposition is used for some of these functions, where their translation of the modern English word ‘at’ can frequently still also be used as ‘in’. This is one of the fascinating aspects of how language evolves in different directions and different languages adapt established words to fulfil vacant functions in need of expression.

The following examples detail its uses.

Indicating location

As explained in the post on prepositions, some prepositions are ‘spatial’; they tell us the relative place or space in which something occurs. ‘At’ is commonly used to indicate a specific location:

  • I’m waiting at the bus stop
  • She works at a hospital
  • He is sitting at his desk
  • They are at the office

Referring to an email address or website is also a type of place, an online location, so ‘at’ is used in email addresses to separate the name of the recipient from the name of the domain:

  • Contact me at john@example.com
  • You can find us at www.allaboutthewordat.com

Denoting a specific point in time

As also explained in my post on prepositions, some prepositions are ‘temporal’; they tell us the relative position of something in time. ‘At’ can be used to refer to a particular point in time in relation to clock time or specific occasions:

  • Let’s meet at 3pm
  • The concert starts at 7 o’clock
  • I met him at 9 o’clock
  • We saw each other at Easter
  • I saw them at Jenny’s party

Indicating an event or activity

But, ‘at’ can be confusing because it doesn’t have just one specific meaning. It is not only used to show time and space, but tends to be used to specify an event or activity in which someone is engaged:

  • He laughed at the joke
  • She’s good at playing the piano

Expressing a state or condition

‘At’ can also be used to express a particular state or condition:

  • He is surprised at the news
  • I am amazed at her talent

Indicating a rate or price

And ‘at’ can be used to specify a rate or price:

  • The product is on sale at £50
  • Petrol is currently priced at £3 per gallon

Expressing a level of skill or proficiency

Otherwise, ‘at’ can be used to indicate a level of skill or proficiency in a particular activity:

  • She is excellent at running
  • He’s not very good at maths

Describing a point of focus or attention

Finally, ‘at’ can be used to describe the point of focus or attention in a sentence:

  • She laughed at him
  • I’m looking at the picture

Phrasal verbs and common collocations

A phrasal verb is a native English expression containing a verb and a preposition (and sometimes also an adverb or other parts of speech); it is a phrase that functions as a verb. The English language, along with a number of other Central European languages, but perhaps slightly more so, is notorious for having a large number of phrasal verbs. The following are some of the better known verbs that collocate with ‘at’, along with some phrasal verbs with their definitions provided.

  • aim at (a target)
  • arrive at (a destination)
  • drive at (a great speed)
  • frown at
  • good at (doing something)
  • laugh at (a good joke)
  • look at
  • play at ( a particular game)
  • priced at
  • work (hard) at

Conclusion

The use of particular prepositions can vary depending on the precise context, and sometimes different prepositions can be used interchangeably:

  • I saw her in the supermarket
  • I saw her at the supermarket

I saw her at the location of the supermarket, but simultaneously in (or inside) the location.

  • I’m working in the office today
  • I’m working at the office today

Once again, for the same reason, both of these options are correct.

But, sometimes, a person tries to substitute ‘at’ in other situations, such as:

  • He’s good at maths = the correct collocation of the phrasal verb ‘to be good at’
  • He’s good in maths = this is a common error and is incorrect!

Sometimes, two prepositions work with the same verb, but change the meaning of it:

  • They arrived at the airport = using the collocation and phrasal verb ‘to arrive at’
  • They arrived in style = using the verb ‘to arrive’ and describing how they arrived with the collocation ‘in style’

These examples show that there may be circumstances when another preposition is suitable for a sentence, and that one must always keep in mind whether ‘at’ is being used to express time or space, or whether it is being used as part of a collocation, also known as a dependent preposition.

Exercises to practise

Have a go at the following exercises to see whether ‘at’ is the correct preposition in the given contexts.

2
Created on By Michelle

Using the Preposition 'At'

using prepositions

1 / 12

He works ----- home

2 / 12

I worked ---- this project for a long time

3 / 12

We have always looked ---- her for advice

4 / 12

Have a look ---- this photograph

5 / 12

I don't like people laughing ---- me

6 / 12

She laughed along ---- the rest of us at the funny film

7 / 12

He is good --- playing football

8 / 12

It was good ----- him to drop by

9 / 12

They frowned ---- each other

10 / 12

She drove -----  the carpark

11 / 12

She arrived ---- work early

12 / 12

He aimed his gun ------- the target

Your score is

The average score is 83%

0%

If you have any questions or comments, please do add them below.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Börjars, Kersti, and others. Introducing English Grammar, 2nd edn (Routledge, 2010)

Burton-Roberts, Noel. Analysing Sentences: An Introduction to English Syntax, 4th edn (Routledge, 2016)

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 3rd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2019)

Dreyer, Benjamin. Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style (Penguin Random House, 2020)

Gwynne, N. M. Gwynne’s Grammar: The Ultimate Introduction to Grammar and the Writing of Good English (Ebury Press/Random House, 2013)

Hewings, Martin, and others. Cambridge English Grammar and Vocabulary for Advanced (Cambridge University Press, 2015)

Huddleston, Rodney, and others. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Cambridge University Press, 2002)

Parrott, Martin. Grammar for English Language Teachers, 2nd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2011)

Quirk, Randolph, and others. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, reprint edn (Pearson, 2011)

Seely, John. Oxford A – Z of Grammar & Punctuation (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Trask, R. L. The Penguin Guide to Punctuation (Penguin Books, 1997)

Yates Ph.D., Jean. Prepositions, 3rd edn (Barron’s Education, 2020)

New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors (Oxford University Press, 2005)

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/

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