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Tarirotari Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
"In my work"
Hi, everybody,
I want to ask a question about an expression which should be incorrect but which I've heard from native speakers a few times: "in my work".
The other day I heard something like, "Some people in my work should try to find something else to do."
I think we must always say "at work" or at least "in my workplace", but having heard "in my work" on several occasions, I'm starting to wonder if it is actually something that you can say.
Thanks!
I want to ask a question about an expression which should be incorrect but which I've heard from native speakers a few times: "in my work".
The other day I heard something like, "Some people in my work should try to find something else to do."
I think we must always say "at work" or at least "in my workplace", but having heard "in my work" on several occasions, I'm starting to wonder if it is actually something that you can say.
Thanks!
Top answer
I've heard "at my work", meaning "at my workplace", in casual speech here in America. "In my work" sounds funny.
- I've heard "at my work", meaning "at my workplace", in casual speech here in America.
- "In my work" sounds funny.
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6 Answers
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I've heard "at my work", meaning "at my workplace", in casual speech here in America. "In my work" sounds funny.
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tarirotariI think we must always say "at work" or at least "in my workplace", but having heard "in my work" on several occasions, I'm starting to wonder if it is actually something that you can say.Why not? The equivalent of in my work is possible in other languages. Why should English be an exception? I might say:
Good computer software
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Cool Breeze tarirotariI think we must always say "at work" or at least "in my workplace", but having heard "in my work" on several occasions, I'm starting to wonder if it is actually something that you can say.Why not? The equivalent of in my work is possible in other languages. Why should English be an exception? I might say:Good computer software is important in my work
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Yes, what I wanted to mean is 'at my workplace'.
By the way, isn't "at my work" (used to mean 'at my workplace') also incorrect? I've also heard it from American speakers, and although it sounds OK to me, shouldn't it be avoided? -at least I think that's what I've been taught.
By the way, isn't "at my work" (used to mean 'at my workplace') also incorrect? I've also heard it from American speakers, and although it sounds OK to me, shouldn't it be avoided? -at least I think that's what I've been taught.
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Correctness is relative. There are matters in English that the most learned experts disagree upon, and there are things that everybody says even though every schoolteacher on earth has told them not to time and time again. I prefer to think of matters of grammar and idiom in terms of what is justifiable according to long tradition, what the best writers do, what sounds good or doesn't, what is pro
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Thanks for the answer.
I understand that real usage of the language and prescriptive grammar are sometimes (or often) at odds. It's good to know that 'at my work' does not sound bad when used in informal contexts, but that we should avoid using it in more formal situations.
I understand that real usage of the language and prescriptive grammar are sometimes (or often) at odds. It's good to know that 'at my work' does not sound bad when used in informal contexts, but that we should avoid using it in more formal situations.
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