Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Teo]

Peter's friends ________ singing ___ here.

(A) are; X (B) are; in (C) is; X (D) is; over

The given answer is A, but I think choice B is also correct. Am I right?
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Thank you very much for your reply.

[battlecryorsilence]

Good instincts, Teo! You're absolutely right; there could easily be a context in which one would want to say "Peter's friends are singing in here." However, "Peter's friends are singing here" is also correct.
For instance, I'd use the sentence resulting from answer (A) if a friend and I were inside of (or even walking by) a large auditorium, and Peter's friends were performing at that auditorium. If, however, I were walking down a hallway with many classrooms, I might stop just outside a particular room, point at the door, and tell my friend that they are singing "in here" (as opposed to singing in another one of the classrooms). In general, I'd use the sentence resulting from answer (B) if there were several locations nearby in which Peter's friends could be singing, and I needed to specify the location more clearly. I might also tell someone on the phone, "You'll have to speak up; I can't hear you very well, because Peter's friends are singing in here."