Hi, i’m currently still learning Japanese. Up until now i’m somewhat clear when and what the で and に particle are used for, but then i find these sentences:
1. 三時にえきであいませんか
2. 三時にえきにあいませんか
I’m pretty sure the correct one should be number 2(~えきに) since the verb あう (to meet) is a verb including movement, but seeing 2 に particle in a sentence makes me kinda doubt myself. I understand that the 1st に is there because it is followed by time (３時), i’m just not sure about the 2nd に.
Can anyone explain to me which one is the right one and why the other way is wrong ? Thanks
3 comments
で in this case is the event location marker (so the place where an event takes place or will take place), and に is the marker of being somewhere already or going somewhere.
Meeting is an event that happens at the target location so you use the event location marker.
Ah yes, に and で. Always a tricky pair. When I read them I usually have no trouble with them, but choosing which one to use can sometimes be a trial.
I would have said 1 was correct, because the station is being described as the place where the meeting is to occur – i.e. the boundary within which it takes place.
A few things. First, having multiple に in a sentence not only is not unusual, but it’s extremely common, especially when the にs serve different grammatical functions. Secondly, 会う is not a motion verb. It’s actually intransitive, and に oftrn marks the person you’re meeting. Third, in part due to the reasoning above, the correct particle is 駅で.