Preposition At
At is a word used to show the place, direction, time or manner of something.
- He works at the market.
- We live at home.
- Throw the ball at the stumps.
- We have breakfast at eight.
- She ran at top speed.
After some verbs, at is used to indicate the target of a perception or non-verbal communication. Common examples are look, smile, wave, frown, point.
- The child looked at its mother.
- Why are you looking at her like that?
- She smiled at me.
At is also used after some verbs referring to attacks or aggressive behaviour. Common examples are shoot, laugh, throw and shout.
- Why are you shouting at me?
- Stop throwing stones at the cat.
Place
At is used to talk about position at a point.
- It is very hot at the centre of the earth.
- He works at the market.
Sometimes we use at with a larger place, if we think of this as a stage on a journey or a meeting place.
- The plane stops for an hour at Chennai.
- Let us meet at the club.
At is particularly common with proper names used for buildings or organizations.
- I first met your father at Harrods.
- She works at the State Bank of India.
- She was educated at Oxford.
We generally use at to talk about addresses.
- Are you still at the same address?
- She lives at 73 Albert Street.
At can be used with a possessive to mean at somebody’s house or shop.
- You are always at the hairdresser’s.
At is also used before the names of group activities.
At a party
At a meeting
At a concert
At a lecture
At a match
Time
We use at with clock times.
- I usually get up at six o’ clock.
- I will meet you at 4.15.
- We have breakfast at nine.
- Phone me at lunch time.
At night means during any night.
- I often work at night.
We use at to talk about the whole of the holidays at Christmas, New Year, Easter and Thanksgiving.
- We are having the roof repaired at Easter.