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changwecanbelievein
Senior Member
Mainland China
Chinese
- Jan 22, 2012
- #1
Generally we use "at the party". But I don't know could man say "in the party" or "on the party", such as "in one's birthday party" or "on one's birthday party". Are they grammatically correct?
GreenWhiteBlue
Banned
The City of New York
USA - English
- Jan 22, 2012
- #2
"In the party" can be correct -- but not in the way you want to use it. The word "party" can also mean "a specific group of people", and if used that way (which you were not doing), one can speak of being "in" a party.
On the other hand, "on one's birthday party" is always wrong.
C
changwecanbelievein
Senior Member
Mainland China
Chinese
- Jan 22, 2012
- #3
Thank you, sir.
M
michael13
Senior Member
Chinese
- Jul 3, 2013
- #4
GreenWhiteBlue said:
See AlsoWhen/What is your birthday?On the other hand, "on one's birthday party" is always wrong.
How about referring to a group of people? Nowadays do native speakers use ON?:
eg When we were on a reading party, he came down to see if breakfast was ready.
sound shift
Senior Member
Derby (central England)
English - England
- Jul 3, 2013
- #5
That's difficult to answer because I am not familiar with "reading parties", I'm afraid.
M
michael13
Senior Member
Chinese
- Jul 3, 2013
- #6
Thank you, Sound~ Are reading parties former things?
T
tabidots
New Member
Kerala, India
American English (Midwest)
- Jul 3, 2013
- #7
I don't know what a reading party is—it sounds like a book club or type of event. If it is an event, then I would use "at."
I have only encountered "party" in the sense of "a group of people" when asked by waitresses/reservationists at restaurants: "How many people are in your party?"
L
LVRBC
Senior Member
English-US, standard and medical
- Jul 3, 2013
- #8
The use of party as a group of people is very common: think of political party or wedding party. There we say "in the party." When party means a celebration, the usual is "at".
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michael13
Senior Member
Chinese
- Jul 4, 2013
- #9
Thank you, Tabi and LV. Does ON THE PARTY today make sense? Is use similar to?: People on the committee.
T
tabidots
New Member
Kerala, India
American English (Midwest)
- Jul 4, 2013
- #10
LVRBC said:
The use of party as a group of people is very common: think of political party or wedding party. There we say "in the party." When party means a celebration, the usual is "at".
Oh, right. I was thinking of "party" without any adjective or other qualifier.
michael13 said:
Thank you, Tabi and LV. Does ON THE PARTY today make sense? Is use similar to?: People on the committee.
No, that would be "in" as LVRBC said. "Top-ranking officials in the party accused X of espionage."
"On" goes with committee, board, panel, jury, and team.
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michael13
Senior Member
Chinese
- Jul 4, 2013
- #11
Thank you, Tabi~
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EdisonBhola
Senior Member
Korean
- Sep 27, 2020
- #12
GreenWhiteBlue said:
"In the party" can be correct -- but not in the way you want to use it. The word "party" can also mean "a specific group of people", and if used that way (which you were not doing), one can speak of being "in" a party.
On the other hand, "on one's birthday party" is always wrong.
A famous online English teacher gave the following as an example of how we can say "in the party":
I was in the party of twelve people who went on holiday.
Is this use of "in the party" really okay? Does it mean the same as "in the group"?
kentix
Senior Member
English - U.S.
- Sep 27, 2020
- #13
In that context, party means group.
E
EdisonBhola
Senior Member
Korean
- Jun 28, 2022
- #14
LVRBC said:
The use of party as a group of people is very common: think of political party or wedding party. There we say "in the party." When party means a celebration, the usual is "at".
Is there any reason for using "at" for a celebration?
L
LVRBC
Senior Member
English-US, standard and medical
- Jun 28, 2022
- #15
The reason is to be idiomatic and easily understood. There is very little other reason for English language usage; it is not very systematic. I am going to a birthday party; I'll be at the party for about 2 hours.
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