in the bank vs. at the bank

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

hello everyone! i need help in clarifying something.

  1. He works AT a bank.
  2. Her boyfriend works IN a bank.

on sentence #1 i was told i should use AT but on sentence #2 i was told it should be IN. what’s the difference? how can i explain this clearly?

i would appreciate any help you could give.

thank you very much!

2

Hi,

‘At a bank’ suggests simply the place of work and it also therefore indicates the type of employment. Similarly ‘at school’ suggests studying or being a student. ‘In a bank’ describes the actual location/place. ‘In school’ again refers to the place where the child/student is.

Alan

3

My English teachers always told me that I should use “at” when I use such sentences because my aim is not to specify that person works inside the bank, rather I simply want to say he works for a bank. However, I sometimes see some people using “in” for such sentences. So lets see what the teachers say…

4

It seems that I posted simultanously with Alan and it is nice to see my explanation being correct :slight_smile:

5

Thank you very much for your prompt replies, Alan and Ahmadov. :d