に (6)

Particle (Basic ㊦ 299)

A particle which indicates the location where someone or something exists.

Equivalent: In; at; on

ヒルさんは今ジョンソンさんのアパートにいる・います。: Mr. Hill is at Mr. Johnson's apartment now.
私のクラスには中国人の学生がいる・います。: There is a Chinese student in my class.
その本はこの学校の図書館にあります。: That book is in the school's library.
この学校にはプールがない。: There is no swimming pool at this school.
加藤さんは大阪に住んでいます。: Mr. Kato lives in Osaka.
庭に桜の木が立っている。: There is a cherry tree standing in the yard.
この作文には文法の間違いが沢山見られる。: A lot of grammatical mistakes can be seen in this composition.
花子はみのるの隣に座っている。: Hanako is sitting next to Minoru.

Notes

1. に6 indicates the location where someone or something exists. Verbs such as いる '(animate things) exist', ある '(inanimate things) exist' and 住む 'live' typically occur with the locational に.

(⇨ ある1; いる1)

2. The verb ある often takes the particle に, but when ある is used for an event, に cannot be used. In this case, で is used.

(⇨ ある1; で1)

3. Noun phrases with に often occur as topics, as in Key Sentence (B) and Example (b).

4. If a location phrase which indicates the existence of someone or something modifies a noun phrase, as in 'an apartment in New York', に cannot be used. In this case, の is used.

(⇨ の1)

ニューヨークの/*にアパート
an apartment in New York

【Related Expressions】

I. で1 also indicates location, but not a location where someone/something exists. Thus, in the following sentences で is ungrammatical.

[1]

a. 私のうちに/*ではテレビがない。
There is no TV set in my house.

b.スミスさんは今会議室に/*でいる。
Mr. Smith is in the conference room now.

On the other hand, に is used only to indicate the location where someone/something exists, but not an event; therefore, in the following sentences, に is ungrammatical.

[2]

a. 私はいつも図書館で/*に勉強する。
I always study at the library.

b. このラケットは日本で/*には五万円ぐらいだ。
This racket costs about 50,000 yen in Japan.

c. そのパーティーはトムの家で/*にあった。
The party was held at Tom's.

11. In some sentences, both the locational に and the locational で can be used. For example, in [3] both に and で are appropriate.

[3]

私は京都に/でいい家を見つけた。
I found a good house in Kyoto.

However, the nuances of a sentence with に and that with で are different. Namely, the sentence with に implies that "I found a good house which is in Kyoto", while the one with で means "In Kyoto I found a good house". Therefore, in [4] the に version and the で version mean different things.

[4]

私は東京に/で仕事を見つけた。
I found a job in Tokyo.

Namely, in the sentence with に, the job is in Tokyo and the place the speaker found it mignt not have been Tokyo. On tne other hand, the sentence with で means that the place the speaker found the job was Tokyo and the place where he is going to work is not necessarily Tokyo.