I was teaching my daughter the use of adverb home. I told her that we don't use any preposition before that word. That's how it is.
I'm going home.
But then, when we talk about others home, we use preposition (does it then become a noun? I'm not sure!)
I'm going to Henry's home.
I got confused when she asked that she has heard this in many Hollywood movies -
Anybody home?
She asked further that if her friend asks on the phone, which question is correct -
"Rhyme, are you home? OR
"Rhyme, are you at your home?"
She argued that if we are talking about our home we don't use preposition as I began my lesson with (I merely did to make things simple!) but then in the latest example, her friend Sonia is asking her about her (Rhyme's) home and certainly, Sonia is speaking from her home.
The case is quite similar to I'm going to Henry's home. Say, Are you at Henry's home? and so... Are you at your home?. If the second person is asking with preposition here, why don't they use preposition in Anybody home? After all, anybody is at least someone. We do say, "I saw someone at his home while passing by."
Furthermore, if two sisters are talking (they live in the same home), they don't need to use preposition in the same case of calling and asking on phone. One can simply ask another...
"Are you home?"
The questions:
- If someone is asking about your home, do they have to use prepositions? (Anybody home? over Are you at your home?)
- If you are talking about your home, in any case, do you use a preposition?
- If two people (living under the same roof) are asking each other, do they use preposition? Because then it becomes your own home, again, rule no.1!
I already went through this, this, this and this. But precisely, none of those questions answer my concern. Especially when someone asks you your location at your home.