Question
What is the difference between で and に, location marking particles?
Answer
When you talk about a place, you often use ‘in’ or ‘at’ in English. In Japanese, they are で or に.
で can be ‘in’ or ‘at’. に can also be ‘in’ or ‘at’.
When to use で or に
It depends on a verb in a sentence.
- You use で when you have an action verb in a sentence. Action verbs express action such as stand, sit, read, listen, eat, swim, etc.
- You use に when a verb is live or stay.
Exercise
Task: Change into Japanese.
- I study Japanese at library.
- My older sister stays at a hotel.
- My father lives in Japan.
- My older brother works in Japan.
- I listen to music in a room.