Sunday, July 14, 2013

How do American English and British English use the definite article differently?

I decided to make sure that I know this important difference between American and British English, so I wrote what I have found out so far and I would be grateful to anyone who reads this and tells me whether I am wrong, or not.



In British English when people say to hospital or in hospital when talking about somebody being there as a patient they don't use the definite article : "I had to go to hospital", "She spent two weeks in hospital". And the meaning is that somebody was there as a patient.



If then for some other reasons British English speakers will use the definite article which will change the meaning itself, I noticed that, in American English, native speakers often use the the and if they need to show that somebody is in church to pray, in school as a student, in hospital as a patient, in prison as a prisoner, they use 'in' and not 'at'. Do American English speakers use 'at' like British English speakers use 'the' to give the sentences a different meaning?




Are my sentences correct? Do they show American English usage?




  • He is in the school. (enrolled as a student)


  • He is at the school. (for some different reasons)


  • He is in the hospital. (as a patient)


  • He is at the hospital. (visiting somebody)


  • He is in the church. (to pray)


  • He is at the church. (for some different reasons)



  • He is in the university. (as a student)


  • He is at the university. (not as a student)


  • He is in the college. (as a student)


  • He is at the college. (Not as a student)


  • He is in the prison. (as a prisoner)


  • He is at the prison. (not as a prisoner)


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