GRAMMAR

At school or at the school?

What is the difference between ‘at school’ and ‘at the school’?

Which is correct: to be ‘at school‘ or ‘at the school’?

Both prepositional phrases are correct. The use of the definite article ‘the’ depends on the meaning you want to convey.

Examples

I am at school.
I am at the school

At school

When I say ‘I am at school’, I am not specifying the school I am talking about. The school is not identified. All I am saying is that I am not at home; I am at a school whichever school it may happen to be.

When we use the term ‘school’ without the definite article as in ‘he goes to school’, we are referring to the place as a general idea.

At the school

However when I say ‘I am at the school’, I am specifying the school I am talking about. That is, I have a specific school in my mind. Here is a context that may clarify the use of the definite preposition ‘the’:

John and Mary are talking on the phone:
- John: Have you visited James’s school to talk to the principal about his problem?
- Mary: I am at the school right now and there is no one I can talk to.

The school John and Mary are talking about is specified: James’s school. They both have a specific school in mind. This is clear from the contextual information available. That is why the definite article ‘the’ is used.

At university, prison, hospital, and church

Similarly, the same grammatical rules apply to:

university/college,
prison/jail,
hospital,
and church.

The definite article ‘the’ is not used when we are thinking of these places in general terms.

I plan to go to university/college.
This means that I want to become a student.
Alan went to prison/jail for murder.
We are not referring to a particular prison/jail. All that we are saying is that Allan is a prisoner right now.
The Smiths go to church every Sunday.
Again we are not referring to a particular church.
He had a heart attack and was taken to hospital.
We are not referring to any particular hospital.