Im Home

Druid , Aug 19, I was thinking about the two phrases "I'm home" and I'm at home", and I agree, mostly, with the other answers. But I was trying to figure out why the first phrase even exists, if the other one is usually correct. I have some theories. Here are two different examples: I'm home for the holidays.

For example, a college student who has moved from his hometown of Boston, MA to Phoenix, AZ for college and currently lives in Phoenix can say he is "home" for the holidays if he stays with his best friend in Boston during the holiday break. He is not in his own home, or his parents' home, either, but is "home" in that he has returned to the area he came from.

But if he says "I'm at home for the holidays" it could mean his home in AZ or his parents' home in Boston, but couldn't really include the best friend's place in Boston. I'm home from work.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home

As the others mentioned, "I'm home" also is used to show arrival. If you are talking about where you are and have been for any amount of time , you say "I'm at home". But when you're talking about your arrival, especially if you are talking to someone who is already there, you would say "I'm home". It feels sort of like "I'm home" is advising someone that you have arrived where they are, or where they expect you to be, whereas "at home" is telling someone your location when you could be anywhere.

Here is a silly story using I'm home and I'm at home in a bunch of different ways, so you can get the feel of it. Betty and Bill went home to Colorado over the Christmas break. While they were there, Susan, Betty's co-worker, called Betty on her cell phone to wish her a happy holiday. Hey, Betty, happy holidays!

Tell The Wolves · Carol Rifka Brunt · Author of 'Tell the Wolves I'm Home'

Nice to hear from you! I called your house, but nobody answered, then Ted told me you guys were out of town.

I'm home visiting family; Bill's here, too, but Bobby isn't home from school, he stayed in his dorm with his new college friends. Just me an Bill at home with my family.

Does your family have a fireplace to keep everyone warm in the Colorado winter? Oh, we're not staying with the family -- too many people. We're staying at the Sheraton. Since we're only home for a few days, we figured we might as well splurge on a nice place and save the stress of having so many people in a small house -- almost all the family are home right now. It's just too crowded.

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Whew, I wish I could've stayed at the Sheraton when I went to visit my parents. I had to stay at home , in my old bedroom. Imagine, me and Ted in my old twin bed. THAT was tons of fun. Ha, I can imagine. Well, with Bill's Christmas bonus, we had just enough to bail us out of the crazy house and spring for the Sheraton. Oh, that was Bill, calling to tell me he'll be home soon. Yesterday he wasn't home until almost 11, and I chewed him out for not calling. I guess he doesn't want that to happen again. Haha, I can just imagine!

Speaking of which, Ted's at home right now waiting for me; I'm shopping for some stuffing. I think the implication in the expression "I'm home" is that you're home from somewhere. But a homecoming in the not-too-distant past is certainly connoted.

Apparently, home in go home can be used without a preposition because it is the remnant of an earlier form that fused preposition to and noun, and when this type of inflection for case disappeared from English, this particular usage continued, with the to-home form standardising with the base noun. We don't have "I'm going school". Home in "He is home" is locative rather than directional now. It may be another legacy from the fused to-home that we never use the preposition to with home except with an intervening determiner etc. Certainly, other prepositions at, from can be used with the noun home in the expected way, and "I'm at home" is strictly locative.

In the phrase "I'm home", the word "home" is used as an adverb, not a noun. Compare the expression "to go home".

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This would only make sense if, for instance, she is in the kitchen and might not hear him entering the house, so he has to announce his arrival. It would not make sense if she is already at the door to greet him. Mitch I don't think you're completely correct. Some people say something like "I'm home, I'll talk to you later" over the phone so in that situation you may be announcing your arrival or coming home to someone who is not present in your house.