Re: USAGE: Internetese deviancy - the definite article

David Barrow wrote:
> Michael Potter wrote:
>
>> "in the" is what I would use for someone inside the specific
>> school/church/whatever building, while I was outside that building, but
>> near it. "at the" would, conversely, mean that you were inside, but I
>> was at home.
>
> If you are at home, how do you know the person is inside and not at the
> entrance
> or in the garden?
You don't. Precision is what "inside the" and "near the" are for.