Learn English – at vs in (the hospital) – What is different

differenceprepositions

I saw your mom in the hospital.
I saw your mom at the hospital.

What is different in these two sentences? Do two prepositions make significant difference?

Best Answer

'In' implies that the person was a patient at the hospital, whilst 'at' is more likely to be used when the person was just on the premises and not a patient, although you would probably use 'at' if you had a appointment at the hospital but were not admitted.

E.g. "Where are you?" " I'm in hospital' (I'm sick/injured and in a hospital bed) compared to "I'm at the hospital" (I'm visiting someone or being seen by the doctor). In the UK, we also tend to say "in hospital" or "at the hospital". "in hospital" can be taken as a personal status, rather than just a statement of location.

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