The English language can be tricky at times. While most Americans grow up learning English at home and school, communicating in professional spaces is a whole another challenge. Every once in while, you may find yourself typing, erasing and rephrasing paragraphs again and again, wishing you remembered some English grammar topic you learnt in the 6th grade.
Are you a perfectionist when it comes to grammar and punctuations? Are you anxious about writing emails to your boss or coworkers? Or, maybe, you just got suddenly curious about the grammatical structure of sentences with ‘in’ and ‘at’ prepositions. Let’s take a look at commonly confused sentences and how to use them in the right context!
‘In the office’ vs ‘At the office’
When you ask “Are you in the office?”, you are basically asking a person if they are physically present in a particular location in the office. This question is more specific and focuses on a designated area inside an office building or campus.
For example, if you are looking for your coworker during working hours, you might ask “Hey, are you in the office?” They would understand it as, “Are you in at your desk, or meeting room, or somewhere else within the office premises? The use of “in” suggests an enclosed or specific area, highlighting the person’s spatial location within the office.
It’s a more targeted question about their immediate physical surroundings in the workplace. When someone asks you this question, it may mean that they want to speak to you in person. It suggests a sense of immediacy.
“Are you at office?” is a more general question, which roughly translates to “Are you anywhere near the office, or doing office-related work?” It doesn’t really specify whether you are inside or outside the office building. If you have remote work, “at the office” implies “at work”, even though you may physically be in your home or somewhere else.
You can answer “Yes” to this question if you are anywhere near the office, like in the parking lot or in a coffee shop. Basically, if you say you are at office, you are not necessarily implying that you are immediately available in the workplace for a meeting or discussion.
‘At work’ vs ‘In work’
“Are you at work” is an appropriate way of asking someone if they are currently preoccupied with work, regardless of their physical location. It includes people who are working from home. This question is suitable both in casual conversations as well as workplace discussions, like update or follow up calls about a task.
The phrase ‘in work’ is also grammatically correct and means the same thing as ‘at work’. It is more commonly used by British English speakers. It is commonly used in sentences like “I am in office till 5” or “Are you in work today?”
‘Sitting in the office’ vs ‘sitting at the office’
Similar to the earlier example, ‘sitting in’ the office implies that you are sitting in a cubicle, desk, cabin or any other designated area. ‘Sitting at’, on the other hand, implies that you are present at work, but not necessarily in your work space.
‘Do you work today’ vs ‘ Are you working today’
When you ask someone ‘Do you work today’, it may mean you are asking them about their weekly schedule. You may use this question to ask someone if they are working on a specific day of the week. For example, you may say, “Do you work today, or are Saturdays off for you?” You may also ask this question before someone starts their day, e.g., “Do you work today, or can we make plans for the evening?”
On the other hand, when someone says “Are you working today?” they may want to see if you are immediately available for a work-related conversation. For example, if your manager sends you this text, she may want to know if you are available to take on some task. This question is more about a person’s immediate or current work status.
Is it coming ‘in to the office’ or ‘into the office’?
In casual conversations, you don’t have to worry about how you use this phrase. Many people may not even notice the difference, and will get the message correctly regardless of how you phrase it. But if you are talking to someone who is particular about their grammar, or if you are drafting an important email, then you should make sure you use it correctly.
The correct way to use this phrase is ‘into the office’, e.g. “I will be coming into the office after my client meeting”. The preposition ‘into’ is used when we want to convey that we are moving toward or inside a physical space. It is a more straightforward and commonly used expression.
How to ask someone whether they are coming to office?
If you are writing an email to someone asking them whether they will come to work, here are a few tips to keep in mind. Start by briefly introducing the purpose of the email, e.g., as we plan for the day ahead, I wanted to check whether you will be present for work today. Then mention the schedule for the day, and the list of important things on the agenda, e.g., we have an important client meeting this afternoon, and I wanted to confirm that you will be accompanying me for the meeting.
After that, ask for prior notice if they are not going to show up, e.g., if there is a change of plans on your end, then I would appreciate an email about the same as soon as possible, so that I can arrange for back-up. Finally, urge them to respond at the earliest, e.g., Let me know at the earliest, so that I can confirm our schedule for today.
We hope this article helped you clarify the usage of certain verbs and prepositions in professional communication. If you want a permanent solution to your difficulties in drafting emails, online grammar check tools are a great place to start. Good luck!
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