Expert: Ted Nesbitt - 3/2/2005

Question
What's the difference between "in the northern part of" and "in the north of"? Which one should be used with the following question?

San Francisco is (       ) California?

Answer
Brian:

There is really NO difference, except for the additional words, and many people prefer fewer word -- "less is best."

The problem comes with usage -- what the ear finds acceptable, because the common usage is preferable to something that sounds strange.  For this reason, "San Francisco is in the northern part of California" is preferred, because that is the common usage.  

Since this is a "grammar" site, there is nothing grammatically incorrect with "SF is in the north of California."  It just "sounds" strange.

Here's another example:  Harrisburg is in the center of Pennsylvania.  That's acceptable.  So is this:  "Harrisburg is in the central part of Pennsylvania."

And what's the difference between your California example and my Pennsylvania example?  It is the use of the "direction" of north.  

It's the use of a direction that is the heart of your question.  The directional words always cause a problem, but that's how our language works.

Getting back to your original question:  There is no difference.  Both are grammatically correct.  Both mean the same.

The difference is STYLE and USAGE and how it sounds to one's ear.

Ted Nesbitt