The nuance of using the word 'home' as an adverb/noun with or without prepositions

Question

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.

Answer 1

This hinges on parts of speech.

Remember that "home" can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

In the uses of "home" which do not take an article (the, a) or a possessive (like my or our), home will be either an adjective or an adverb. When describing a location, "I'm going home" is similar to "I'm going there"--the final word in both phrases is usually construed to be an adverb of place. Adverbs (of any kind) don't generally take articles.

However, "home" can also be a noun referring to a place of residence. That's the sense in which you would say "She is at her home" or "I am going to his home." This is basically a more intimate synonym for "house". (Realtors always use "home" when they mean to say "house" because "home" has much stronger emotional connotations.)

In the example:

Rhyme, are you home? vs Rhyme, are you at home? vs Rhyme, are you at your home?

These are all grammatically correct. They may have slightly different nuances. I would use the first one if I expected Rhyme might not be home (like if we'd both gone somewhere together and then split up). Both the first and the second could be a general-purpose inquiry. The last version sounds like I'm making a distinction between whether she's at her home (vs. someone else's), or maybe like I'm specifically interested in the building somehow.

I could refer to my home with a preposition or article; examples include "I left it at home" or "The home I lived in at the time" or "My new home has a tile roof..." Preposition use isn't really dependent on whose home the speakers are discussing, or whether it's shared between them; it depends on whether they are using it as an adverb of place or a noun.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

If you are talking about your home, in any case, do you use a preposition?

Yes, quite often; here are a few samples:

• I'd prefer to watch the game at home.

• I can't believe she had the audacity to yell at me like that in my own home.

• In our home, we almost always say grace before dinner.