Arrive at/in

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Arrive at/in

zvonka.rink

Arrive at/in

Dear teachers,

It �s time to have fun and be happy Thumbs Up

, isn �t it? However, there are still many things that need to be done before the holidays.

I have a few questions and I kindly ask you to help me.

I know that the verb arrive is followed wither by at or by in, but which preposition would you use in the following sentence:

They finally arrived ............. the island.

I would use to but that �s mainly because it sounds OK to me.

Also, I would like to know if this is correct:

More than 190 countries participating at the conference.....

Is it possible to use AT? I know that the verb to participate is followed by the preposition IN, however, is it possible to use at too?

And last but not least. Do you think the word would/should is correct in this sentence:

Economic and political issues would/should have to be resolved before a concerted worldwide effort to reduce emissions can begin have gotten no simpler.....

The word I expected was that/ which.

I thank you so much for your help and I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Wink

20 Dec 2010

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They finally arrived ............. the island.

By boat, �at �. By air, �on �. Sometimes people use either. �To� is wrong.

More than 190 countries participating at the conference.....

�Participate in � something. �Participate at � is possible, but it emphasises the place.

For ex:

He participates in sports.

He participates at school.

Economic and political issues would/should

You �re right, that/which should be the answer. It needs to be reworked before would/should are acceptable:

Economic and political issues would/should have to be resolved before a concerted worldwide effort to reduce emissions can begin. These have gotten no simpler.....

In any case, if it were to be rewritten �would � is the more natural answer, but �should � is OK grammatically too.

20 Dec 2010

zvonka.rink

I �m really grateful for your help.
Thank you and enjoy the rest of the day/evening. Smile

20 Dec 2010

Jorgelinaac

Let me say that............ I loathe ...."in" and "at". In the sentence you provided, I would have said.... they arrived in the island! hahaha. Once, I was told that we generally use "at" for indoor places, like small places and "in" for big and open places. Maybe my former teacher was just trying to work out some kind of rule :) to make it easier!!!

Thanks!

20 Dec 2010