# I will watch game tonight

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-game-tonight/647746>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 19, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-game-tonight/647746 "2013-01-19T21:56:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-game-tonight/647746/21 "2013-01-22T20:32:05Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Yeah, but when you’re sick you’re “in hospital” whereas we Yanks are “in the hospital”.

That’s exactly what I thought of. I always notice that when I see/hear/read British news reports, etc.

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**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-game-tonight/647746/22 "2013-01-23T01:57:55Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Yeah, but when you’re sick you’re “in hospital” whereas we Yanks are “in the hospital”.

> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#):
>
> That’s exactly what I thought of. I always notice that when I see/hear/read British news reports, etc.

I knew an Irishman who once went into a lengthy diatribe about Americans using “the” in “in the hospital.” He was wound up kind of tight. That’s the same Irishman who went ballistic whenever we told him “Top o’ the mornin’ to you.” He’d angrily lecture that Irishmen never say this, but we’d say it to him any chance we could. 😃

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-game-tonight/647746/23 "2013-01-23T08:17:34Z")

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> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#):
>
> That’s exactly what I thought of. I always notice that when I see/hear/read British news reports, etc.

Yep - tends to apply to institutions:

‘At school’ (and ‘at college’, ‘at university’), ‘In hospital’, ‘In prison’ = a student, a patient, an inmate.

‘At the ~’ just denotes being physically present at the named location - could be a visitor, a member of staff, etc (or a student/patient/inmate, but with emphasis on location, not action).

BTW: I keep seeing this thread title and wanting to report it as one of those ‘watch TV online’ spam threads.

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-will-watch-game-tonight/647746/24 "2013-01-23T21:55:54Z")

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> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> Yep - tends to apply to institutions:
> 
> ‘At school’ (and ‘at college’, ‘at university’), ‘In hospital’, ‘In prison’ = a student, a patient, an inmate.
> 
> ‘At the ~’ just denotes being physically present at the named location - could be a visitor, a member of staff, etc (or a student/patient/inmate, but with emphasis on location, not action).

This is also true of American English though we’d be more apt to say “in college” rather than “at college” to mean currently enrolled rather than physically there. “At the college” would mean physically there. However, I don’t think I’ve ever heard an American utter “at university” or “in university.”

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