Can I use "in" instead of "at?" How would it be different?

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

You could, but it would be a little different! "In the swimming pool" would mean that they are physically inside the swimming pool, whereas "at the swimming pool" means the general location of the pool and not the specifically inside the pool itself. Ex: I'm at the mall. => at the location of or in the mall. = I'm in the mall. => inside the building itself Ex: I'm at the restaurant, are you coming? => at the location of or in the restaurant, possibly parked outside. Ex: I'm in the restaurant, and I got us a table. = I'm at the restaurant, and I got us a table. => here "at" also means "in"

How do native speakers use this expression?

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Popular Q&As

12/21

1
Does "A be after B" mean "A is chasing B"? What does it mean?
Yes, "after" in this context means to chase, to look for, or to try to get. So to have something or someone "after" someone in this case means that they are looking to find that person or trying to capture them. Ex: You'd better hide. The whole city is after you.

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What's "walk the walk, talk the talk" mean?
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