18 useful expressions with the

18 USEFUL EXPRESSIONS WITH THE PREPOSITION AT

FOR TALKING TO CLIENTS, CUSTOMERS AND COLLEAGUES!

Do you want to improve your spoken English? One good way is to learn lots of expressions. Just to help you with that, we’re looking at some really useful expressions with the preposition at. Learn them, and then use them when you’re talking, and you’ll sound a lot more natural! IMPORTANT!

As you’ll see in the examples, we often use the preposition at to describe a precise point, exact time or definite place. For example, at 10am, at the restaurant, at the top...

1 At once If you want something “at once”, you want it immediately: “We need to start this work at once if we want to finish it on time.”

5 At last If you say that something important happened “at last”, you’re saying that it happened in the end, often after a delay or a series of difficulties: “We managed to speak to the client at last, which is a relief.” 2 At work If someone is “at work”, they’re in the office or the place where they work: “She’s at work right now.”

6 At the moment If something is happening “at the moment”, it’s happening now: “I’m a bit busy at the moment.” Also, “at present”: “We’re working on the shareholders report at present.” 3 At all costs If you must do something “at all costs”, it’s extremely important that you do it: “We need to get this contract at all costs.”

7 At night If something happens “at night”, it happens when the sun is below the horizon and it’s dark (from 10pm to 5am, for example): “I often have to work at night as there’s so much to do.” 4 At hand If something is “at hand” (or “to hand”) it’s close to you, but not in your hands: “In the office, it’s good to have a pen and paper at hand in case someone calls with some important information.”

8 At the weekend If something happens “at the weekend”, it happens on Saturday or Sunday: “I’ll probably be busy at the weekend.” (“On the weekend” is more common in US English.)

9 At fault The person who is “at fault” is the person who caused something bad to happen and who is responsible for this thing: “The airline is at fault if your baggage is lost.” 10 At a glance If you say you understand something “at a glance”, you understand it immediately, or by looking at it quickly: “I knew at a glance that something was wrong with the process.” 11 At a guess If describe something “at a guess”, you say what you think or imagine it is, even though you aren’t really sure: “At a guess, I’d say there were about 100 people in the conference hall.”

12 At the latest If you say that you want something by Thursday (for example) “at the latest”, you’re saying that the deadline (the final time) is Thursday – and you don’t want it on Friday: “I need this report by Monday at the latest.”

15 At the top If something is “at the top” of a list (for example), it’s at the highest position in the list, often meaning it’s the most important thing: “The proposal for a new company slogan is at the top of the agenda for the meeting.” / “There’s a cinema at the top of the road.” The opposite is “at the bottom of”. 16 At short notice If something happens “at short notice”, it happens very quickly and without any advance warning, so you have little time to prepare for it, or: “They cancelled the meeting at short notice and without any explanation.”

18 At the same time 1. If you do two things “at the same time”, you do them simultaneously; “We met up with the client to discuss the current project and the new proposal at the same time.” 2. We can also use “at the same time” if we want to say something positive after a series of negative things – it’s like saying however or nevertheless: “I think the presentation went well. At the same time, I’m not sure that we managed to convince them it’s the best solution for them.” 13 At least We use “at least” when we want to say something positive after a series of negative things: “It’s a pity that the client didn’t give us the complete project, but at least they gave us a part of it.” 14 At random If something happens “at random”, it happens accidentally and not according to a plan or decision; if someone is selected “at random”, they’re selected by chance – not specifically or according to a plan: “The customers are selected at random for the client satisfaction phone calls.”

17 At the end of the day 1. In the final hours of the day: “I’ll send you the e-mail at the end of the day.” 2. “At the end of the day” is also something we say before we give the most important facts of a situation – it’s like saying, “in the end”: “Of course, I’ll listen to your ideas and suggestions, but at the end of the day, it’s my decision.”

GLOSSARY

a delay n if there’s a “delay”, something happens later than planned a relief n if you feel a sense of “relief”, you feel happy because something bad didn’t happen busy adj if you’re “busy”, you have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it a deadline n a final time when you must complete something a pity n if you say that it’s a “pity” that something happened or didn’t happen, you feel sad because of this result advanced warning n if you receive “advance warning” about something, people tell you that something will (or won’t) happen a long time before it’s supposed to happen (often giving you time to make other plans)