Why is it ” I’m at work” but ” I’m in class”? Why does ” I’m in work” or “I’m at class” sound wrong grammatically?
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This is one of the grammatical rules where it is much easier to “feel” what is right based on how we perceive the world rather then try to analyze it. When you think of work or school you think of a place or location which means you should use “at”. But when you think of class or office you think of the room so you should use “in”. Basically you are inside the room but you are on top of the location. Again this is hard to analyze logically.
Possibly because we consider “work” a location and “class” an activity. So you’re “at” work (place) but “in” the middle of work (activity). You’re “in” class (activity) but “at” school (place).
These are called “set phrases.” They popup every now and then in almost every language where one way of saying something just becomes more common than another perfectly valid way of saying it. There are likely a number of different factors that causes us to do this. One is that it can be easier to understand a phrase if you say it consistently the same way as people around you do. Another is that a can servative as a Shibboleth, something that helps you to recognize outsiders.
“The correct preposition to use depends on the context.
We use “in class” when we are referring to being physically inside a classroom and participating in the activities that are taking place. For example, “I am in class right now.”
We use “at class” when we are referring to attending a class or being present at a specific class session. For example, “I will be at class tomorrow morning.”
So, both “in class” and “at class” are correct, but they are used in different contexts.”
-Stolen from Quora, thought it was a good answer.
That said, prepositions are fickle. “At work” is usually used because it implies there’s a workplace that you are at. Not all work takes place “in” anything, so it’s not so commonplace.
It’s just the idiomatic form of the language.
Just like you get on a bus but into a car.
Or the fact the in the US you would say that you are *in* ***the*** *hospital*, but in the UK, it would be *in hospital.*
In English, we typically use “at” for a specific place, and “in” for a general place.
“I’m at the mall.” “She’s at home” = specific place
“I’m in New York.” “I’m in line.” = more general/ vague
Class doesn’t really specify a specific location, but you DO say “I’m at school,” because that is.
A side note – now that I do a fair amount of work remotely, I never say “I’m at work” anymore. I use “I’m working” most commonly, and “I’m at the office” specifically when I go in to work.
Wait, is it “I’m in the office?” Now I’m confusing myself.
Because those two are not equivalent to each other
“I’m at work” would be the equivalent of “I’m at school.”
“I’m in class” would match with “I’m in a meeting.”
The first is a location, the second is a thing you do.
I’m at work.
I’m in a meeting.
I’m at school.
I’m in class.
Work and school are locations you are *at.* Meetings and classes are activities you are *in* at those locations.
Is this something along the reason reason as to why we’re “in the car” but “on a bus”? It just sounds better?
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