at/on

Question

(1)There is a post office on the corner.(2)There is a post office at the corner.How do you native speakers see the difference between (1) and (2)?

Yoong Liat · Accepted Answer

Taka(1)There is a post office on the corner.
(2)There is a post office at the corner.

How do you native speakers see the difference between (1) and (2)?

Either preposition is correct. Hence, there is no difference in meaning between the sentences.

Taka · Answer

OK. Then what about these below? Are they both acceptable? If not, why not?

(3) I'll see you on the corner of the street.
(4) I'll see you at the corner of the street.

Pchuang · Answer

They all mean the same.

Anonymous · Answer

Yoong LiatEither preposition is correct. Hence, there is no difference in meaning between the sentences.

From 'both prepositions being correct' it does not follow that the two sentences are equal, even if they are.

Mister Micawber · Answer

(1)There is a post office on the corner.
(2)There is a post office at the corner.

The meanings are the same; the speaker merely has a slightly different-- and I think quite unconscious-- perspective ('at' being, as usual, the point reference and 'on' referring to a two-dimensional location). MrP (in the linked thread) seems to see 'on' as more commonly used in his milieu. I have seen both preferred in various regional speeches.

Yoong Liat · Answer

TakaOK. Then what about these below? Are they both acceptable? If not, why not?

(3) I'll see you on the corner of the street.
(4) I'll see you at the corner of the street.

corner (OF ROADS) -- a place where two streets join: There was a large group of youths standing on the street corner. (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

Hence, I'll see you on the corner of the street is correct.

Anonymous · Answer

Yoong Liat
Taka(1)There is a post office on the corner.
(2)There is a post office at the corner.

How do you native speakers see the difference between (1) and (2)?

Either preposition is correct. Hence, there is no difference in meaning between the sentences.

Just my opinion....2 seems to be more used and more correct to my hears. In this context, "at" is imferring a location intersecting X and Y street. i.e. There is a post office at the corner of 18th Ave and Franklin St.

But there is another post office on 25th Ave next to Bank of America.

GL2 · Answer

While the meanings are essentially identical, I believe there can be a very slight difference in emphasis between the two. 'At' can be used to refer more to the general location. 'On' is slightly more pinpoint and implies being directly on top of something.

"There was a car accident at the corner of 5th and James Street." (The listener would probably assume the cars are still in the roadway.)

"There was a car accident on the corner of 5th and James Street." (The listener would be more likely to imagine the accident occurred on the sidewalk where those streets intersect.)

Again, this is a very subtle difference, and you can often use the two prepositions pretty much interchangeably. As you can see from some of the posts above, some will disagree with this distinction.

Yankee · Answer

I think that's a good analysis, GL2.  And I agree with MM's point that a native-speaker's choice of 'at' or 'on' in this particular sentence is likely to be an unconscious one (i.e. the meanings would be basically identical, but the choice of preposition will reflect a slight difference in perspective).

Goodman · Answer

Hi GL2,

I agree that the difference is slight.

Nonetheless, I believe there is one.

The Washington State Convention and is conveniently located in downtown with our main entrance on the corner of 7th and Pike Streets. ...

The above sentence tells me the entrance is on the side.

The Washington State Convention and is conveniently located in downtown with our main entrance at the corner of 7th and Pike Streets. ...

This tells me that it could be on either 7^th or .

Any one with different interpretation ?

at/on

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