Arrive at/in the garden

Question

A: Had the flowers been watered when Sheila arrived at the garden?
B: No, they were still being watered.

Am I right that it should be "in the garden" as we say

John is in the garden.

Source: [The ILI English Series, Intermediate 2 Workbook, Page 45][1]

Here "in the garden" is the expected construction, just as in the garage is used in your example from the old ILI textbook. Did you intend to provide a link to a different lesson? — P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica, Aug 19 '16 at 07:45
Very much related (and possibly even a duplicate): The famous at or in the park question. A garden is much like a smaller version of a park – you can be at it, or be in it, but at includes the area around the garden's edge, while in is generally more confined to within the boundaries of the garden. For the purpose of saying that someone arrived, either preposition could be used. — J.R., Aug 19 '16 at 07:49
We almost always arrive at something, even if we then go into it, which I think was the point of the cited lesson. However, I wonder if there is a slight US vs UK issue in the point of confusion? For me (American), a garden is a discrete plot of land for cultivating plants. I would always approach it from outside, and might well stand looking at it from the edge. But I believe in the UK "garden" can refer to what I call a "yard". If that's right, then a BrE speaker could "arrive in the garden" by stepping out a door (though "arrived in the front/back/side garden" sounds more idiomatic). — 1006a, Aug 19 '16 at 13:42

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 19 '16 at 07:42

at
1. a. In or near the area occupied by; in or near the location of

"Arriving at the garden" can be equivalent to "arriving in the garden", but it can also mean that Sheila has not entered the garden's limits or boundary.

Arriving in the garden means that Sheila is within the limits of the garden, inside the garden.

So both are possible. The illustration doesn't help either. If the limits of the garden include Shelia's position and extend beyond that, then in and at work. Otherwise, in doesn't work, but at does since she is near enough to the garden.

I might go so far as to say that the guy watering the garden is standing at the garden's edge, and therefore the book uses the correct preposition. But my point is you nailed this. — J.R., Aug 19 '16 at 07:52

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 19 '16 at 07:29

Perhaps. Both are grammatically correct, but with slight change of meaning.

Use of "at" suggests that the garden is viewed as a point location. Whereas using "in" would view the garden as a 2d region. If, for example I am speaking of a garden that is on the other side of town, I view the garden as the endpoint of a journey. In that case the garden is a point, and I would use "at".

In the specific example, "arrival" is a point in time, and so "at" seems appropriate. With another verb, "in" might be better. "Were the flowers being watered while Alice was walking in the garden."

The same argument could be used for other examples on that page. You can use both "at the office" and "in the office" with the same slight difference in meaning.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 19 '16 at 16:42

The most common situation where one would arrive "at" a location would be with something like a stadium or theater; one arrives "at" the stadium when one reaches the ticket window, or possibly marked queueing area. One arrives "in" the stadium after one has gained admission and, generally, reached the location from which one will view the event.

Perhaps the simplest way to think of arriving "at" a place is to imagine how one would respond to "where are you?" If one would reply "I'm on my way to X", one isn't there yet. If one would identify X without indicating that one was traveling toward it (e.g. "I'm just outside X" or "I'm waiting in line for X"), one has arrived "at" the location.

Arrive at/in the garden

3 Answers3