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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

prepositions: work with/for/at a company

Hello,

I hope someone can help me to understand the correct use of the preposition in this case:

In my book it says "to work with a company". Is it also correct to say "I work for IBM" or "I've worked at BMW" for 5 years"? Are there any differences or connotations?

Thanks in advance.

Sabine
  

Top answer

Usually, the speaker is using those prepositions synonymously. With can also be used when you are not an employee per se, but on contract or a partner, for instance. For suggests that the speaker is thinking of the corporate body that employs him/her, while at suggests that the speaker may be thinking of the office or location as he speaks; but for all practical purposes, s/he probably intends to communicate the same fact: ' I am an employee of IBW '.

— Mister Micawber

  • Usually, the speaker is using those prepositions synonymously.
  • With can also be used when you are not an employee per se, but on contract or a partner, for instance.
  • For suggests that the speaker is thinking of the corporate body that employs him/her, while at suggests that the speaker may be thinking of the office or location as he speaks; but for all practical purposes, s/he probably intends to communicate the same fact: ' I am an employee of IBW '.
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9 Answers
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Usually, the speaker is using those prepositions synonymously. With can also be used when you are not an employee per se, but on contract or a partner, for instance. For suggests that the speaker is thinking of the corporate body that employs him/her, while at suggests that the speaker may be thinking of the office or location as he speaks; but for all p
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I'd like to go a step further than Mr. M. on the "work with" comment. If I am an employee of the company, despite what your book says, it sounds wrong (to me) to say you work "with" them. If I were a consultant and the company was my client, I might use with.
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Hi,

I may be going off on a tangent, but you can say I am with IBM, meaning I work for IBM.

Best wishes, Clive
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Yes, you can. I'm with Apple, I'm with so-and- so company, and most people will understand that you work for Apple, or for so-and-so company
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Hi,
I'd like to go on with this discussion of prepositions with 'company'. Nowadays far too many sources including teaching materials illustrate the use of 'in' in phrases like 'I work in IBM', 'They work in a company'. As far as I know this preposition has got a more 'physical' connotation meaning 'inside the walls of the organisation you work for'. Or could I be mistaken? Please, send your
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"I work in [CompanyName]" sounds wrong to me.

But, for me, "work in" is possible like this:

I work at a hardware store. I work in plumbing. (=I work in the plumbing department.)

CJ
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It does sound wrong to me too, but I come across the use of 'I work IN the company' in the teaching materials from Macmillan and this puzzles me a lot... The only thing I can think of is the street language is now moving onto pages and you can't just brush away from it.
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Thank-you for your explanation on te prepositions used with the the word work. Excellent!
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I would say, if you are quoting the exact words here, "I work in the company" does not sound wrong to me at all, there is a small difference here. You are actually trying to point out a particular entity using a general term, "the", "company". You are not saying "I work in IBM", but you are saying "I work in the company", which sounds perfectly normal to me. with, for, at all mean different things
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