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TeacherScottinBusan Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Basic Grammar

Hi!

First of all, you guys are a great help for me. I just love that I can ask you grammar questions and get a speedy response.

My question today is about: " I arrived in Seoul" versus " I reached IN Seoul". Why can I say I arrived IN but not reached IN?

Is 'arrived in' a phrasal verb?

Thanks! I love you!

- Scott
  

Top answer

It's more that "arrive" is intransitive, whereas "reach" is, in the sense you want, transitive (though in other senses it can be intransitive). Because "arrive" is intransitive, you can say "I arrived", period, but not "I arrived Seoul". To communicate the latter, you need a preposition, such as "I arrived in/at Seoul".

— Mr Wordy

  • It's more that "arrive" is intransitive, whereas "reach" is, in the sense you want, transitive (though in other senses it can be intransitive).
  • Because "arrive" is intransitive, you can say "I arrived", period, but not "I arrived Seoul".
  • To communicate the latter, you need a preposition, such as "I arrived in/at Seoul".
  • Conversely, because "reach" is (in this sense) transitive, you can say "I reached Seoul", but not "I reached in Seoul".
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3 Answers
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It's more that "arrive" is intransitive, whereas "reach" is, in the sense you want, transitive (though in other senses it can be intransitive).

Because "arrive" is intransitive, you can say "I arrived", period, but not "I arrived Seoul". To communicate the latter, you need a preposition, such as "I arrived in/at Seoul". Conversely, because "reach" is (in this sense) transitive, you can s
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TeacherScottinBusanWhy can I say I arrived IN but not reached IN?
In the usage we're discussing here, reach already has the meaning arrive in.

I reached London. = I arrived in London.

So if you say I reached in New York, you're saying I arrived in in
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"I arrived in Seoul" is correct whereas "I reached IN Seoul" is not correct. However, you can say, "I reached Seoul" and that would be correct too.

The phrase, "I reached in" is not a substitue for either of the 2 correct phrases given above (don't say it when you would say either of those 2). However, "I reached in" as a phrase would be acceptable with a s
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