at the office/in the office

[danielenglish]

Hi teachers,

Someone is asking me over the phone where I am ,so what should I say "I am at the office/in the office.

I would appreciate your help.

Thanks in advance
Daniel
(I like english)

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

Either preposition is fine.

 

[Harry Batt]

In gives the person a more precise location. Thus if I say that I'm at the office, the response might be, "Well, I know that. But where? Are you in the lounge, the library . . ? And you would be obliged to specify. "In my office. If I was in the lounge someone would have taken the call for me."

 

[Haol]

I understand both are usuable. However, what would an english native say in that case ?

 

[Harry Batt]

I would consider "in" as a specific location and "at" a general location.

 

[Meeracat]

Either preposition is fine.

Precisely

 

[tannen2004]

As Harry Batt said, "in the office" is more precise (it's a room) while "at the office" is often synonymous with "at work", so which expression you would use would depend on which idea you would like to convey.