Poor in, poor at.

[john martin]

What is the correct preposition after "poor"
She is poor AT English.
SHe is poor IN English.
My thoughts are that IN implies some form of deficiency or lack of something. It seems to work here with "English" but seems strange if put with words like swimming. She is poor IN swimming..?

[LarryLatham]

What is the correct preposition after "poor"

John,

The answer, as I'm sure you already know, is both. There is nothing "incorrect" about either. A better question, here, would be "What is the difference in meaning between in and at?" For therein lies the distinction between your two examples.

It must be remembered that all language is codified by the producer to represent the closest to what meaning is in his head at the moment of use. A (speaker) using "in" generally implies that he/she is thinking about being surrounded by something. Use of "at" does not carry that implication. Rather, the speaker here is referring to an idea which he/she considers whole and indivisible (at that particular moment). Hence, it is entirely possible to say "We'll meet in school" or "We'll meet at school", the difference being that the speaker, at the moment of speech, is considering school as a place within which he/she could be at any particular time, in the case of the former, and in the latter case is merely thinking of the school as a 'place'.

Simply transferring that idea to your examples, we have '...in English', in which the user imagines being surrounded by English, as if in the middle of it all. As Norm Ryder might so colorfully say, "having a good splash about." Users of '...at English' simply are thinking of English, at that particular moment, as a language, or maybe as a skill set. You can also now see why it is unlikely you will hear someone say, "She is good in swimming." since it is hard to imagine the middle, so to speak, of swimming, although you could evidently be 'in the middle of a swim.'

Agree? Disagree?

Larry Latham

[Celeste]

I would say one is "poor in English" if you were referring to a school subject. If you were referring to English as an everyday skill, not in the context of a school subject, I would say "poor at English".

[plato]

Hi Larry,

"She is good in Swimming"sounds perfectly alright to me, particularly if one is talking or writing about school subjects or skills.

And further, I think it depends on what part of the English speaking world one is from, even down to city, town or village. This will most certainly determine what your likely to hear, regarding "in" or "at".

Best regards, Plato.

[LarryLatham]

Hello there, Plato,

"She is good in Swimming"sounds perfectly alright to me...

I wouldn't argue with you there. As you mention, it all depends on what you, as a native English speaker, are used to hearing. And, again as you mention, that is quite often a function of where you're from, or where you are living.

That being said, my sense is that "...good at swimming" may be more plentiful, than "...good in swimming", if one looks at the English speaking world as a whole. However, could be wrong, and I would most certainly not suggest that "...good in swimming" is in any way 'wrong', or even inferior. It is highly unlikely that any English speaker will misunderstand in any normal context, whichever way it is put.

Cheers,

Larry Latham