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Radovan Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

in/at Seoul, in/at Los Angeles

Hello. I have come across these sentences.
Florence Griffith-Joyner was the darling of the 1988 Olympic Games at Seoul.
She had already set a world record... and at Seoul she broke the world record ....
At the 1984 Olympics, held at Los Angeles ......
Why is there "at" in the underlined examples? I have always thought the preposition with towns/cities is "in". Except for "The train calls at Doncaster, York, Newcastle ....." where the cities are only considered to be points on a journey.
Thank you in advance for your comments.
  

Top answer

"The Olympic Games", whether explicit or implicit, is the reason for "at". The actors in question are not "at Seoul" or "at Los Angeles". They are "at the Olympics in Seoul" or "at the Olympics in Los Angeles".

— CalifJim

  • "The Olympic Games", whether explicit or implicit, is the reason for "at".
  • The actors in question are not "at Seoul" or "at Los Angeles".
  • They are "at the Olympics in Seoul" or "at the Olympics in Los Angeles".
  • Recall that "at" can connote participation in activities.
  • Thus, "at school" ~ "learning things", "at church" ~ "praying" or "participating in church services", "at work" ~ "working", etc.
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7 Answers
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"The Olympic Games", whether explicit or implicit, is the reason for "at". The actors in question are not "at Seoul" or "at Los Angeles". They are "at the Olympics in Seoul" or "at the Olympics in Los Angeles".

Recall that "at" can connote participation in activities. Thus, "at school" ~ "learning things", "at church" ~ "praying" or "participating in church services", "at work" ~ "work
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Thanks. Would I say in the same way for example:
Last week I was at a conference at Cambridge. ??? (event - conference, activity - learning, giving a speech ... )
Last week I was at a concert at Cambridge. ???? (event - concert, activity - listening)
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radovanThanks. Would I say in the same way for example:Last week I was at a conference at Cambridge. ??? (event - conference, activity - learning, giving a speech ... )Last week I was at a concert at Cambridge. ???? (event - concert, activity - listening)
You could.

Even so, I would say "at a conference" or "at a concert"; that's the 'particip
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If the conference was at the university, then 'at Cambridge' is possible.
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fivejedjonIf the conference was at the university, then 'at Cambridge' is possible.
Ah, yes. I was thinking only "city of Cambridge".

CJ
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Thank you CJ and fivejedjon.
In a test, like a CAE, or CPE, would it be considerred a mistake if I used "in Seoul", "in Los Angeles" in sentences mentioned in my original post?
CalifJimI recommend:I was at a conference in Cambridge.
Isn´t "At the 1984 Olympics, held at Los Angeles" similar to "I was at a conference in Cambridge"? First I mention the event, t
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radovanIsn´t "At the 1984 Olympics, held at Los Angeles" similar to "I was at a conference in Cambridge"?
It's more similar to "I was at a conference at Cambridge".
radovanI would tend to say "At the 1984 Olympics, held in Los Angeles".
So would I.
radovanI believe I could omit "held" and say "At the
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