Preposition; [in/at] school or university
I have made up the sentences below.
(1a) Bill is currently studying in school instead of self-teaching. (This sentence is used without specifying the educational level.)
(1b) Bill is currently studying at school instead of self-teaching. (This sentence is used without specifying the educational level.)
(2a) Ken is studying in university.
(2b) Ken is studying at university.
Most of my non-native English speaking friends think either preposition is possible. It won't the meaning of the sentences. However, my other friends think "in" sound better to their non-native ears.
What is your opinion? Thank you very much.
Top answer
I would naturally use "at" for both of these. "studying in university" sounds more unnatural to me than "studying in school". Google Ngrams shows "studying at university" to be much more common than "studying in university" in both AmE and BrE, but even more so in BrE.
- I would naturally use "at" for both of these.
- "studying in university" sounds more unnatural to me than "studying in school".
- Google Ngrams shows "studying at university" to be much more common than "studying in university" in both AmE and BrE, but even more so in BrE.
- It shows "studying at school" more common in BrE, but "studying in school" more common in AmE.
- I am a BrE speaker.
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I would naturally use "at" for both of these.
"studying in university" sounds more unnatural to me than "studying in school".
Google Ngrams shows "studying at university" to be much more common than "studying in university" in both AmE and BrE, but even more so in BrE. It shows "studying at school" more common in BrE, but "studying in school" more common in AmE. I am a BrE speaker.
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