In/at

Question

Hi,do we say, that somebody sits IN the back of the car, but the license plate can be found AT the back of the car, right?we also say that it was too hot IN the cinema, but we watched the film AT the cinema, correct?Is there any rule concerning the use of in/at in such sentences?Thank you in advance!

Stephenmatlock · Accepted Answer

in this case, because there is the concept of being inside something (a car, a cinema), you say they sit IN.

the licence/license plate is not in the car. So how do you say where it is located? It is back there, AT the back or rear of the car. If you said it's IN the back of the car, unless you knew that license plates are always attached to the outside, then you'd assume that the plate was inside the car.

You could also say the license plate was ON the rear of the car if you were thinking of how it was attached.

When you say you're watching films AT the cinema you're emphasizing the location as if it's a street address. If you say IN, then you're emphasizing that you are INside the cinema, in the dark room, watching flickering lights. And AT the theatre could be on the sidewalk waiting in line as well as in the theatre watching the film. IN the theatre makes it exclusive - I'm inside.

It would not be terrible if you said you are IN the cinema watching a film instead of AT the cinema watching a film; it's a matter of the subtlety of what you are emphasizing: location in general or the dark box with the flickering lights.

In/at

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