Meeting at Starbucks by Timothy

Today, I’d like to share with you some common, but easily mistaken, phrases when meeting up with a friend.

For example, if you are meeting a friend at Starbucks, you can say:

“I’m at Starbucks.”

Sometimes, people mistakenly say:

“I’m in Starbucks.”

This phrase would suggest that you are ‘inside’ Starbucks, which is not incorrect. But it is more natural to say “I’m at Starbucks” because we use “at” for places like cafes and restaurants.

Many students make mistakes with the words “at” and “in.” The use of these words depends on the place you are.

For example,”at” is used often for stores/shops, as in “I’m at Isetan Department Store” or “I’m at Sony Plaza.”

“In” is used for places such as cities and countries, as in “I’m in London” or “He’s in Germany now.”

今日は友人と待ち合わせをする時に良く使う、けど間違えやすい！英語を紹介したいと思います。

例えば、スタバで待ち合わせをする時の一言:

“I’m in starbucks.”

「スタバにいます」と言いたいところ、実際はこれ間違いなのです！

正しくは

“I’m at starbucks.”

前者の “I’m in starbucks” は「スタバの中にいます」と聞こえてしまい、後者の “I’m at starbucks”つまり「スタバにいます」は、シンプルかつ正しいの英語なのです。

“at” と “in” の使い分けは、

例えば “I’m at Isetan Department Store” や “I’m at Sony Plaza”。

お店の名前には、必ず “at” を使います。 “in” はどちらかといえば都市や国に使う事が多いです。

“I’m in London” や “He’s in Germany now” など、旅行中に使う時が多いです。

Here is another phrase you can use when you are a little late:

“I will arrive in 5 minutes.”

Sometimes, people mistakenly say:

“I will arrive after 5 minutes.”

This sounds a little odd because we use “after” often in past tense.

For example, “I left my house after I ate breakfast.”

We use “in” with events in relation to ‘now,’ hence future tense.

For example, “I will leave my house in 30 minutes.”

(“After” is strictly used to connect two events: one ‘event’ that took place after another ‘event.’ So it can be used in future tense too, as in “I will drink coffee after lunch.” “In” is often used when connecting an ‘event’ with ‘how many minutes/hours.’ For example “I will finish reading this blog in 5 minutes.”)

Here is another phrase you can use when your friend is late.

For example, you might want to tell your friend nicely that you look forward to meeting him/her.

You can say:

“I will be waiting for you.”

This sounds better than what many people mistakenly say:

“I am waiting for you.”

“I am waiting for you” sounds a little rushed and gives the impression that you upset. The phrase “I will be waiting for you” indicates that you are not upset and sounds more polite.

Then again, if you are upset that your friend is late and want him/her to hurry, it’s of course OK to say “I am waiting for you, so hurry up!”

次は待ち合わせに遅刻した時の一言！友達にメールする時：

“I will arrive after 5 minutes.”

「5分後に着きます」と言いたい時。実はこれ、正しくは

“I will arrive in 5 minutes”

なのです。

前者の “I will arrive after 5 minutes” は

「5分あとに着きます」といった感じで、少し不自然に聞こえてしまいます。

後者の “I will arrive in 5 minutes” は

「5分後に着きます」といった感じで、とてもナチュラルに聞こえます。

“after” と “in” は間違いやすいのですが、基本的に “after” は過去形、”in” は未来形の時に使う事が多いのです。

例えば：