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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I think it’s more about general vs. specific location. Work is the general location, much like school. Class is the specific location, more like the breakroom at work. Alternatively you can think of it in terms of talking about where you are at home, “I’m at home” is where you are in general, “I’m in my bedroom” is the specific location.
Not to hijack, but I have a similar issue with ‘on purpose’ and the, fairly recent, ‘on accident’ (vs BY accident which seems more proper)
English is complicated, but in your example, class is an activity that occurs inside of a classroom. Work is a place in your context.
At vs. in are both generally used as prepositions for location or time, but for location “at” is usually to describe a broader generalization of a location where “in” a more specific one. even that is not a hard rule unfortunately.
Example. “I’m at work” vs. “I’m in my office” or “I’m at school” vs. “I’m in the classroom”
You’ll notice they also get used seemingly interchangeably, for instance “I’m in school” would also be correct. But what you mean there is that you are engaged in the activity of school, which would usually also be happening “at school.”
matters how you say things also. “I’m at my house” and “I’m in my house” are practically the same thing but one is saying that you specifically are inside of your house whereas one is just saying you are home.
From a website…….“At” is used when you are at the top, bottom or end of something; at a specific address; at a general location; and at a point.
“In” is used in a space, small vehicle, water, neighborhood, city and country.
It’s just dialect no? I’m Irish and I would say “I’m in work” or “I’m at class”(or would more likely say “I’m at a lecture/I’m at college”)
And when you need to miss work, do you Call Out or Call In?
What if you’re in class at work?
I think both refer to location, but “at” is used when the location is broad or general, while “in” is used when the location is specific. Maybe?
Why are you “on” a plane/bus, when you’re actually inside of it? The truth is this is just the way language works – and different languages work differently.
At work is like you’re up to something. You’re “at it”. In class just says where you physically are and maybe it’s more passive.
Probably location dependent. “I’m in work” is more common where I’m from . Actually, “I’m in class” is weird, I’d say “I’m at school”
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