She is at the beach. She is on the beach.
My teacher once told "at" , I have my doubts if "at" is correct.
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1Why do you doubt what your teacher tells you? I'll grant that teachers aren't always correct but I'm interested to hear why you think your teacher is wrong.– CatijaCommented May 2, 2015 at 7:10
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Thanks a lot for your comprehensive reply, buddy. Yeah I have to say it is just because simply I am used to hear "on the beach" ! :) Frankly speaking, yes, I do believe in my teacher, all my teachers.– user5036Commented May 2, 2015 at 7:17
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2 Answers
If you're going for a general statement, for example to answer the question:
Q: I see Mary's not at work today, where is she?
The answer would be:
A: She is at the beach.
She is visiting the beach. This is used when you want to say, generally, that someone is at a beach, somewhere.
There are cases where "on" is appropriate. For example, if a family is on a vacation to the beach together and one person is specifically looking for where someone is, you could see something like:
Q: I can't find Mary anywhere in the beach house, have you seen her?
A: She is on the beach.
Saying "at" in this case would be strange because everyone is "at the beach", as that's where they are vacationing.
This is less commonly used and it's often used with more information:
She is lying on the beach, getting a tan.
She's outside on the beach, making a sand castle.
As you can see, these are much more action-specific statements.
Being "on" the beach means she at this very moment can feel the sand between her toes; whereas "at" the beach simply means her current official address is that of a seaside town or is otherwise located within a mile or so of the seashore.
