"work for" / "work in" / "work at"

Question

I would like to know what usually follows after each proposition in sentences with the word "work".

These are what I understand so far:

I work for my boss. ( usually for certain person )

I work in a accounting corporation. (usually for business area )

I work at Samsung. ( usually for specific name of company )

Could you please tell me if I understand rightly?

Answer 1

I work for my boss.

This is OK grammatically, but feels odd to me because it seems rather tautological: by definition the person you work for is your boss, so there's no need to say so. It would be better to indicate the specific person who is your boss:

• I work for him
• I work for Amanda Jones
• I work for Dr Jenkins
• I work for the CEO (you'd only say this if you report directly to the CEO)

(Of course if you are self-employed, or unemployed, then you wouldn't be talking about working for somebody in the first place.)

I work in a accouting corporation. (usually for business area )

You wouldn't say that you work in a corporation, you'd say at or for them. It is correct to say in when talking about which part of the company you work for, or if you are talking about a place. So:

• I work for an accounting company.
• I work at a famous legal firm.
• I work in the accounting department at Samsung.
• I work in the cafeteria.
• I work in London.
• I work for Samsung in London.

(Also, note that it's an accounting corporation, not a accounting corporation.)

I work at Samsung.

This is correct. It would also be correct to say I work for Samsung.