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MUSCOVITE Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

to be ambassador (sic!) AT the UN

Hi,

(1) Mr. Nemo is the US Ambassador TO Russia (I guess it's fine?)
(2) Mr. Nemo is the US Ambassador IN Moscow (should be fine?)
(3) MADELEINE-ALBRIGHT: Saddam Hussein called me a serpent when I was ambassador at the United Nations.

Is the preposition 'at' used correctly in this sentence?

(4) If either preposition ('at' or 'to') can be used in (3), why 'at' is never used for "to' in (1) and similar cases? Is it explainable at all? Emotion: smile

mus-te
  

Top answer

In English, it's not natural to say ' at a country'.

— Clive

  • In English, it's not natural to say ' at a country'.
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5 Answers
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In English, it's not natural to say 'at a country'.
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(1) Mr. Nemo is the US Ambassador TO Russia (I guess it's fine?) Yes.
(2) Mr. Nemo is the US Ambassador IN Moscow (should be fine?) Yes.
(3) MADELEINE-ALBRIGHT: Saddam Hussein called me a serpent when I was ambassador at the United Nations.

We use "at" for organizations, "co
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CliveIn English, it's not natural to say 'at a country'.
OK.
Still, could somebody please explain to me WHY native speakers NORMALLY say/write "ambassador TO the UN", not "ambassador AT the UN" (based on the COCA hit lists I have seen)?
If both versions are fine grammarwise, what makes one of them much more common/popular than the other?
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MUSCOVITE WHY native speakers NORMALLY say/write "ambassador TO the UN", not "ambassador AT the UN"
It denotes that someone has been assigned to the position of ambassador.
The position's work location is at the United Nations.
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Thank you, AlpheccaStars!
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