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ESL forum >
Ask for help > preposition at
preposition at
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donia
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preposition at
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HELLO EVERYBODY
What is the correct answer
I saw one house ____________ the coast.
A) at B) on C) in
I�m confused between on and at so I need you guys to help me
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21 Oct 2008
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donia
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thank u but someone else at the grammar forum said
on the coast
still confused 
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21 Oct 2008
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Logos
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This is one of those horrible English moments where the correct grammatical answer should probably be �on the coast�, but as a native speaker I can�t help thinking that �at the coast� can also be acceptable. My problem is that I have been away from England for more years than I care to remember and I have heard so much �bad English� around me that sometimes I am not sure what is right anymore.
This could also be linked to my northern roots where we don�t always follow the rules as laid down by Her Majesty and other southerners who think they speak proper!!!
As I consider the use of on and at, there are distinctive times when they are indeed separate. Meeting someone at the cinema is definitely far more desireable than meeting them on the cinema. Though meeting them at the steps and on the steps seems to me to be the same. In the same way on the corner, or at the corner can also probably be the same.
So now I offer another challenge. Which is correct "�I saw one house on the coast road." or "I saw one house at the coast road." |
21 Oct 2008
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GIOVANNI
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I believe "on" and "at" are not interchangeable.
It is a little difficult to explain exactly why. Saying something is "on the West Coast" is just an idiomatic expression meaning that something is in the West Coast region. Saying something is "at the coast" means it is actually at the coast, like on the beach. |
21 Oct 2008
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mena22
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According to Michael Swam (Practical English Usage, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, p.79), the preposition "ON is used for position by a lake or a sea". He gives 2 examples: "Bowness is on Lake Windermer" and "Southend-on-Sea". The Oxford Advanced Learner�s Dictionary gives several examples on the entry coast, but none with the preposition "at": "on the south coast of England; islands off the west coastof Ireland; a trip to the coast; We walked along the coast for five miles; a mountainous area near the Welsh coast."
I happen to live on the coast, and I have always heard it with the preposition on, but who can be sure? languages are always evolving and what might be wrong today, may be correct tomorrow. :)) |
21 Oct 2008
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Zora
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Okay this rule may sound weird but it usually works (well, it works in some cases (and for me :-) ) since English is a world of broken rules  ).
You would be able to say "They were at the coast, beach, etc... this weekend." because you are using a subject pronoun "they" and "an indefinite place" - we know not where the beach is... But "Ann was at the coast" is not correct.
And usually for places - because they are permanant, you would have to say "the house is on the coast." "The beach is on the Spanish coast". Saying "The beach is at the Spanish coast" is wrong.
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21 Oct 2008
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mena22
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By the way, in the examples given in the entry road (same dictionary) the preposition is "on": The house is on a very busy road; We parked on a side road." |
21 Oct 2008
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Velia_
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According to the dictionary the preposition is ON. E.g. On the coast : I used to live in a small village on the coast ( on the land near the sea) 
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21 Oct 2008
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jujuka
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Hi,
In my opinion �on the coast� is more common, though I could imagine �at the coast� as grammatically correct as well.
I think the difference is in dimensions.
AT is usually used when you think of an object as one-dimensional, i.e. a point, e.g. He is sitting at the table, she is standing at the window.
ON is two-dimensional, a surface. E.g. You mustn�t sit on the table. There is a fly on the window.
IN is 3D, e.g. We must buy a new table because there are some beetles in the old one. I always put some flowers in the window.
NB: with some words (e.g. the cinema/theatre, disco, shop, school, etc) both in and at are correct
We saw him in the cinema (and in this case you think of the building itself)
I met him at the cinema ( a place of entertainment, and we both went there to see a film).
As for Michael�s �on the coast road�, you probably think of the road in its normal 2D sense, while �at the coast road� suggests that you remember and refer to it as a point.
I wonder what others think of this.
Judit
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21 Oct 2008
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Nebal
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Hi,
The right answer is just as mena 22 explained
" on the coast" : We rented a house on the south coast.
or " along the coast" : They had a walk along the coast.
Nebal |
21 Oct 2008
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