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not often vs. often not
long UK / short EU cross market spread
Apr 20, 2007 14:27
17 yrs ago
125 viewers *
English term

registered at vs registered with

English Other Other prepositions
Hi y'all,

I have checked every book I have, searched the Net and asked a 'native', but what I can't find is an answer to the following question:

when do you use 'registered at' and when 'registered with'?

Our native English colleague can't explain, but has provided me with the following examples of correct usage:

You are registered WITH a Court / Professional Association, etc.
Students are registered AT a university, and might be registered WITH that university's health services.

But why then are Proz users registered AT Proz?
Are patients registered WITH or AT a general practice?

What is the rule? There must be a rule!
Please help. Before we lose sleep over this.

Thanks!
Els
Responses
3 registered at a SPECIFIC PLACE vs. registered at an ORG, etc. (see below)
4 registered student describes status; with (here) means a subscriber/member

Discussion

Els Spin (asker) Apr 20, 2007:
As a matter of fact, at my English university I had to register first, and then enroll in a course.
But although we almost all agree that students are registered AT a university, there are plenty of UK websites referring to students 'registered WITH the university'. So we may conclude that either the language skills of the web editors concerned need brushing up, or that this is an issue worth investigating. Or maybe both. Anyway, this question will remain open for a few days to see what others have to say. Have a nice weekend. And thanks for all the input so far!
lindaellen (X) Apr 20, 2007:
Right, Rita. And then they go and "register for a French course" and on the way home "register to vote". It's only getting worse :)
Els Spin (asker) Apr 20, 2007:
The more you think about... the more confusing it gets. Doesn't it? Well, at least for a non-native. I had a feeling that 'location, place' had something to do with it. Like Matt says. But then it may be argued that a university and a general practice are both a location and an organisation :-) Good grief, I need a drink!
RHELLER Apr 20, 2007:
Yes, in the U.S., we often say that a student is registered; they are registered at the university; they are registered at UCLA. They have enrolled and paid their registration fee.
lindaellen (X) Apr 20, 2007:
Good questsion, makes me think! However, students are enrolled at a university, I would never say they are registered.

Responses

11 mins
Selected

registered at a SPECIFIC PLACE vs. registered at an ORG, etc. (see below)

I think of it like this, you registered WITH some organization (a court) and you register AT a certain specific place in space (a university). A website is probably taken to be a specific place (webSITE) and so AT is ok for ProZ, though I think WITH would be acceptable to, thinking of ProZ as an organization.
Eg:
1. I registered my name AT the IRS HQ in Chicago.
2. I registered my name WITH the IRS

It is ungrammatical, at least to me, to say:

I registered my name WITH the IRS HQ.

Does this help, at least a little?


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Note added at 1 hr (2007-04-20 15:35:41 GMT)
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Yes, Els, I see what you mean: A university is both a location and an organization, so depending on how a speaker thinks of it, he will choose WITH or AT. Both, in certain circumstances, are acceptable.
Note from asker:
I always use AT for universities. I am not sure about the general practice, but I feel it should be AT, since I regard it as a location rather than an organisation. And, of course: registered WITH a general practitionER. Otherwise my linguistic heart wouldn't be able to take it. The mistake I made (up to now, that is) was that I was registered AT the Court of Amsterdam. But the more I am thinking, emailing and Kudozing about it, the stranger it sounds. Needless to say, I have just 'updated' my CV!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Heel erg bedankt; ik weet niet of ik het altijd goed zal doen, maar het lijkt een heel handig onderscheid."
16 mins

registered student describes status; with (here) means a subscriber/member

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htm

at is the easy one - here, it describes a specific location

with is more complicated - here it is being used to describe something like a membership, being a subscriber; being registered with the health services, means one does not have to re-register at each visit

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Note added at 18 mins (2007-04-20 14:45:19 GMT)
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this is U.S. English, I cannot respond for UK English. Re: proz question, I would say I am a member of PROZ or I am a registered PROZ user.
Reference:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslprep3.html

http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/preposit.html

Note from asker:
Nice grammar website! Thanks
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