Is it correct to use "at" followed by a place name (city, town, village, etc.)? I've been seeing phrases like "a hotel at Las Vegas" or "she was living at London" quite a lot recently. Is this a difference between British and US English, perhaps?
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1This looks like it should probably be migrated to English Language Learners– MattAug 31, 2013 at 22:29
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1That usage of "at" is common in Indian English.– user19148Aug 31, 2013 at 22:37
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Normal British usage would be "in a place"; e.g. in London; in Las Vegas.– TrevorDAug 31, 2013 at 23:41
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Thanks, Trevor. Thing is, I can't find if this is an Americanism or just substandard. Carlo, Didn't know it is common in Indian Eng, but I've seen this usage a lot in American publications. Mat, don't take the trouble. Cheers.– AnaAug 31, 2013 at 23:57
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2@Ana: In America you would normally be in a City, but you can also be at work, a friend's house, or at something which is close to, but not inside a city, such as the music festival at Glastonbury in the UK.– MattSep 1, 2013 at 0:09
2 Answers
The choice of in or at with a city depends on how speakers conceive that city in the context of the statement they are making.
If the city is conceived as a two-dimensional place in which to live and work, then in is the usual preposition. If, on the other hand, the city is conceived as a single point rather than as a place with dimensions, then at is the common choice.
This explains the difference between sentences such as:
I live in Frankfurt. / The plane stops at Frankfurt on the way to Seoul.
The meeting took place at Potsdam. / There was an explosion in Potsdam yesterday.
On this basis, the expressions a hotel at Las Vegas and she was living at London are the idiosyncratic choices of individual speakers. I am not aware of any significant patterns of difference between BE and AE speakers.
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5Only two-dimensional? I usually consider places to live and work as having three dimensions … Sep 1, 2013 at 9:29
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3
We use the word "At" for a stop on a journey: We stopped at a nice village. The train to Manchester stops at Birmingham.