I was in [the city of] Indianapolis. is correct (but why, there?).
I was at Indianapolis, may be spoken but is grammatically inaccurate - for an event, you should say: "I was at the (definite article required) Indianapolis 500 (additional clarification required)
Is always have with got - but this becomes you've/I've/he's (he has) and is often not heard, or just dropped altogether when spoken.
How about "I was in Wembley when my car broke down" (London suburb) and "I was at Wembley when we beat the Germans 5-1" (the stadium).
How about "Ouch, that hurt" (being hit by a squash ball) "Where did it get you?" ... "It got me in the back"
Second case may be a little loose gramatically, but absolutely part of normal spoken English.
Ouch, very American that (but obviously not incorrect, the UK doesn't hold a patent on English). A UK English speaker would never use "gotten". Otherwise I wouldn't fault anything you said.
How about "I was in Wembley when my car broke down" (London suburb) and "I was at Wembley when we beat the Germans 5-1" (the stadium).
How about "Ouch, that hurt" (being hit by a squash ball) "Where did it get you?" ... "It got me in the back"
Second case may be a little loose gramatically, but absolutely part of normal spoken English.
Good points/examples - certainly used - but correct - it's hard to say.
The second part of the first example is again about what is not said - as in:
"I was at Wembley Stadium" (additional clarification, but in this instance definite article is not required) - obviously anyone in the know doesn't need the word "Stadium" - but this isn't the norm. (anyway, wasn't it 4-1?).
The second example - again intriguing - would be widely used and accepted - but to be grammatically correct, you (one) should not use got in this sentence, but ...... got should be substituted with hit:
"Where did it hit you?"
"It hit me in the back"
[a squash ball is incapable of "getting" anything]
good points/examples - certainly used - but correct - it's hard to say.
The second part of the first example is again about what is not said - as in:
"i was at wembley stadium" (additional clarification, but in this instance definite article is not required) - obviously anyone in the know doesn't need the word "stadium" - but this isn't the norm. (anyway, wasn't it 4-1?).
The second example - again intriguing - would be widely used and accepted - but to be grammatically correct, you (one) should not use got in this sentence, but ...... got should be substituted with hit:
"where did it hit you?"
"it hit me in the back"
[a squash ball is incapable of "getting" anything]
Hi, would you have the time to help me with the following language / grammar questions ?
1. What is the difference between: "I was in Indianapolis" and "I was at Indianapolis".
It's funny how prepositions cause such confusion in English, especially for speakers of certain languages, since natives learn these seemingly by osmosis. The usage is less arbitrary that it would appear, but the rules are a bit opaque. Both in and at can be used to describe time and place and it's the context in which they are used that determines which is the appropriate one to be used.
In the first instance, 'in' clearly indicates a place since you can be 'in' a city, not 'at' a city. The second sentence is a bit ambiguous since, you wouldn't ever say, "I was at Chicago", for example. You would say, "I was in Chicago, at the train station, on track 5."
Reading grammarian dissertations on the subject of these troublesome prepositions might help, but what will help most is to read English books/novels, etc., of a known high calibre.
2. What is the difference between "You've got me there" and "You got me there" ?
Grammar or use? Grammar aside, the first is more UK and the second is almost exclusively US in terms of use. American English tends to favor lazy use by dropping unnecessary words, especially in conversation although, in my own observations, the UK isn't terribly far behind anymore. Both have essentially the same meaning.
@Louis Wu - asking an American for help with English grammar is like asking a Swiss person for help with German grammar, it is only good in context.
If you want to speak English correctly then go to the source.
You're right I didn't ask him for help though, in fairness, the OP addressed his question to speakers of English without qualifying which particular brand of English he'd like (to have gotten?)