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He was working in Chicago for many years, but he is currently located in New York.

What does the second part (in bold) of the sentence mean? Does it mean that "he currently lives in New York" or "he currently works in New York? If it is the former, I think it should be "he currently locates in New York." Or both "He locates in New York" and "He is located in New York" mean "he lives in New York"?

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He locates in New York.

This sentence means that he is locating things or people in New York. I don't think that is the meaning you are looking for.

To locate something means that you find the location (place) of something.
To be located somewhere means that you are somewhere.

He is currently located in New York.

This sentence means "his current location (place) is in New York".

This could mean he lives there, he works there, or even that he is on holiday there. It just means he is in New York.

Because of the first part of your sentence, it seems that the writer is talking about his work, so likely he means "he works in New York". It doesn't mean he's not living there, though.

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  • This answer is right on, but I thought of something that makes me cringe on behalf of all EFL learners. People say “We plan to locate in New York” but when they do, they don’t say “We locate in New York.” Any idea how to explain this? – Ben Kovitz Dec 29 '14 at 10:58
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    @BenKovitz We plan to locate is transitive locate with causative sense (cause X to be located, i.e. place) but in 'middle voice', like the difference between I cook the food and the food is cooking. We plan to put [ourselves] in NY. Once they've moved to NY, the causative is no longer applicable. – StoneyB on hiatus Dec 29 '14 at 12:07
  • @StoneyB That makes sense! Excellent. I find the example with plan to put especially enlightening. – Ben Kovitz Dec 29 '14 at 12:13
  • Besides, I don't think it's grammatically correct to say "he was working in Chicago for many years. Instead, we should say he worked/has been working in Chicago for many years. – Khan Dec 29 '14 at 12:20
  • @Khan Actually, "He was working in Chicago for many years" is fine. It suggests that the period when he worked in Chicago ended in the past, or that the speaker isn't sure when or if it ended. I'm afraid it's the usual murkiness with simple past vs. present perfect. – Ben Kovitz Dec 29 '14 at 17:48
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"He locates in New York" is wrong grammar as to locate is a transite verb (verb + direct object).

OALD has tree uses of to locate: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/locate

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  • Actually, take a look at sense 3 in the OALD. This verb has some very tricky grammar. – Ben Kovitz Dec 29 '14 at 21:34

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