中庭

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 中庭 (なかにわ) is a courtyard enclosed within a building or group of buildings. 中庭で marks an activity setting; 中庭に marks where a result appears.
• Basic usage: Students 中庭で昼食を取る, whereas after rain 中庭に水たまりができる.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Place of an activity and location of a new result
  • で marks where an action takes place, while に marks where a puddle comes into existence. The courtyard itself is not the subject of either event.