'Some rats lived at/in the school. To get rid of them, the headmaster called in a rat control service.'

Question

Can one use "at the school" instead of "in the school" in,

Some rats lived at the school. To get rid of them, the headmaster called in a rat control service.

Also "In our house" vs "at our house" – Stuart F May 21 '23 at 11:31 — Stuart F, May 21 '23 at 11:31

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered May 21 '23 at 07:50

2

There's nothing grammatically wrong with it, but it sounds odd. We normally speak of people as 'living at' an address.

It would be more usual to say The school was infested with rats or There were rats [living] in the school.

answered May 21 '23 at 07:50

Kate Bunting

1

(Unless it was written from - or involving - the perspective of the rats, who might consider it their address.) – ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere May 21 '23 at 12:17
Yes. The suggested duplicates don't address the colligation 'living at [the end house, the vicarage, the hostel' ...]' being associated solely with human dwellers (and perhaps their pets). – Edwin Ashworth May 21 '23 at 15:59

1 Answers1