ENGLISH
REFERENCE

in hospital

prep. phr..
A2 Elementary Oxford

prep. phr.. staying in a hospital to get medical treatment for an illness or injury.

prep. phr.. functioning as a locative or stative adverbial phrase indicating a patient's admission for medical care; notably lacks the definite article in British English.


SIMPLE

My grandmother is in hospital for a few days.

CONTEXTUAL

He spent two weeks in hospital after the car accident last month.

COMPLEX

While she was in hospital recovering from surgery, her colleagues sent flowers and cards to her room.

Usage

used without 'the' in British English when the person is a patient.

Teaching tip

highlight the contrast between British English ('in hospital') and American English ('in the hospital') to avoid learner confusion when consuming different media.

Pitfall

He is in the hospital for his heart surgery.He is in hospital for his heart surgery.in British English, we omit 'the' when the person is there as a patient, similar to 'in school' or 'in prison'.

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