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Prepositions after verbs

Stay in or stay at?

Stay in and stay at are both common, but they refer to different types of places and situations.

Quick answer

Should you use stay in or stay at?

Use stay in for being inside a place such as a room, house, or city. Use stay at for locations seen as points, events, homes, or hotels.

We decided to stay in tonight.
She stayed at a small hotel near the station.
They stayed in Paris for a week.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
stay in + enclosed place

Being inside a room, house, or city

In is common with enclosed or larger areas.

He stayed in his office all afternoon.
We stayed in Rome during the festival.
2
stay at + specific place

Staying at a hotel, house, or event

At treats the location as a point or destination.

They stayed at my aunt's house.
I stayed at a beach resort.
3
stay in + activity at home

Not going out

Stay in can also mean remain at home.

Let's stay in and watch a film.
She usually stays in on Fridays.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
stay in
We stayed in Madrid for three nights.
Used for cities, rooms, buildings, and remaining indoors.
stay at
They stayed at a hotel near the airport.
Used for hotels, homes, addresses, and events.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using at with large areas

Use in for cities and countries.

✕ We stayed at Spain for two weeks. ✓ We stayed in Spain for two weeks.

Using in with hotels in some contexts

Hotels are more commonly used with at when referring to accommodation.

✕ She stayed in the Grand Palace Hotel. ✓ She stayed at the Grand Palace Hotel.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. We stayed ___ home because of the storm.
2. They stayed ___ Berlin during the conference.
3. She stayed ___ a small guesthouse near the lake.

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Frequently asked questions

Can stay in mean remain indoors?

Yes. Stay in often means not going out.

Why do we say stay at a hotel?

At is commonly used for accommodation and specific destinations.

Do we use stay in or stay at for cities?

Use stay in with cities, countries, and large areas.

sack, by, sack, for, sack, from "sacrifice for" or "sacrifice to"? sail from, in, for, to or through? "salvage from" or "salvage in"? sanction by, for, in, with or according? satisfy with, by, in, about or after? "saturate with" or "saturate in"? save by, for, from, on or in? "say in", "say about" or "say to"? "scan for", "scan in" or "scan through"? "scar by" or "scar on"? scatter in, across, around, throughout or on?

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