in the hospital vs. at the hospital I have just learned from my textbook that when people say "She is in the hospital," they mean that she is ill and needs treatment, and if people say "She is at the

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Svetlana

in the hospital vs. at the hospital I have just learned from my textbook that when people say "She is in the hospital," they mean that she is ill and needs treatment, and if people say "She is at the hospital," they mean that she is visiting someone. Which preposition should I use if I am talking about a friend who is a nurse and I want to say that she is at her workplace, which is a hospital.

Answers · 4

"She is in hospital" (without "the") means she is ill and receiving treatment. When you use "the hospital", you are referring to the physical building and not suggesting any activity inside. For your friend, use "She is at the hospital". The same way you'd use "She is at work". May I ask - do the prepositions "in" and "at" still confuse you? The difference is really quite clear.

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