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I have progressed pretty far in Japanese, but when I construct Japanese
sentences, I still get these two particles mixed up. For example, when talking
about being inside something, I don't know when to use "の中に" and when to use
"の中で." Likewise, when speaking about being next to something, I sometimes
don't know if I should use "となりに" or "となりで." How do you know which one to use
in a sentence?

Which of these is correct?

> 部屋の中 **に** 泣いている。

or

> 部屋の中 **で** 泣いている。
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2011-05-31T20:36:57.090
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usage particles particle-に particle-で に-and-で
Particles: に vs. で
They are pretty similar, but で usually indicates that an action took place at
that location. So you use に when you're talking about _being_ inside or next
to something, etc. and で when you talk about _doing something_ inside or next
to something.

**Edited to add** : 部屋の中で泣いている is correct, because the room is the location of
an action (crying).
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2011-05-31T20:39:21.053
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This can depend on the arguments a verb takes. For example, いる uses に for
location. かべでいる would make no sense. 書く takes an argument for something to be
written on; 「壁に書く」 means "write on a wall", and 「壁で書く」 means "write at a
wall".

For the 泣く example, you really could use either one, but で may be clearer
because 泣く can take an argument marked by に to indicate cause, object or
monetary amount. For example, 「彼が｛借金・訃報・千円｝に泣く」(From [LCS
database](http://cl.it.okayama-u.ac.jp/rsc/lcs/) distributed by Okayama
University). 「部屋に泣いている」 could potentially mean "he's suffering for/because of
room".
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2011-05-31T21:07:48.223
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> 部屋の中で泣いている

is correct because 泣いている is an _action_ which takes place in 部屋の中.

A good check for whether a short phrase is correct is to just Google it.
Google has over 200,000 hits for the correct で version, and none for the
incorrect に variation. Although.. I imagine Google will soon index this page!
:)
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2011-05-31T21:54:12.683
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In general, で is where an action is performed and に is the "direction"
toward/to/into which the result of an action happens.

>   * 部屋の中で泣いています → I'm crying in the room / "The place where I'm at while I'm
> crying is in the room"
>   * 部屋の中に泣いています → I'm crying into the room (meaning like, your tears are
> flowing from your face into the room). This doesn't make sense unless you
> happen to be talking about where your tears flow when you cry. In the case
> of the English saying "crying in my beer", ビールの中に泣いています **would** make
> sense, although that's an idiom that you probably wouldn't directly
> translate.
>

The other example

>   * 部屋の中にいます → I'm in the room ("My existence results in something being in
> the room (namely, me)" -- ??)
>   * 部屋の中でいます → "The place where I am doing my existence is the room" - Since
> existing is not really a (one-time) "performable" action, this doesn't make
> sense.
>
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2011-05-31T23:18:06.933
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What I have been taught in the college is that に is only used for verbs that
imply motions which destination/position is required to be specified.

For example, if you say "ikimasu" (I'm going), unless already in the context,
you need to specify the destination otherwise the sentence does not make
sense. So, you use "ni": "asoko ni ikimasu"

On the other hand, で is used when the location of the action verbs is just
additional information. For example, you can say 泣いています without specifying
where you are crying and the sentence still makes sense.
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2011-06-01T01:51:43.590
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I think the use of の中 here is anti-idiomatic. I would just say 部屋で泣いている。
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2011-07-25T13:56:03.823
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* に is to indicate an interaction between two objects that are noticeably separate, initially, and that remain somewhat separate. 

  * で is used to indicate objects from or becoming to similar groups, working in close unison to form some result.

Between English and Japanese, the most accurate analog I have found is:
に:で;each other:themselves.
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2011-07-25T15:30:18.603
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に and で can be confusing in other uses as well, but since the example is about
location, I will focus on that.

**に:**

specifies a location into/toward which a movement takes place:

  * 部屋に入る enter the room
  * 学校に行く go to school

specifies a location where something exists (used with verbs いる, ある and 住む,
but not only). Focus is on _existence_ , not _action_ :

  * 彼は部屋にいる he is in the room
  * 本は机の上にある the book is on the table
  * 庭に木が立っている a tree is standing in the garden
  * 空に雲が浮いている clouds are floating in the sky

**で:**

specifies a location where an action takes place (Focus is on _action_ , not
_existence_ ):

  * 彼女は部屋で泣いている she is crying in the room
  * 子供が川で泳いでいる children are swimming in the river

**Note that** there are cases where both で and に are possible, but the nuance
is different:

  * 東京にアパートを借りた I rented an apartment in Tokyo (an apartment located in Tokyo)
  * 東京でアパートを借りた I rented an apartment in Tokyo (when I was in Tokyo)
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2012-02-07T13:45:39.957
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