kono machi de tochi o katta.

I bought land in this town.

Breakdown of kono machi de tochi o katta.

• を: direct object particle
• で: location particle
• 買かう: to buy
• この: this

Questions & Answers about kono machi de tochi o katta.

What does で mean in this sentence?

Here, で marks the place where the action happens.

So in この町で土地を買った, この町で means in this town or at this town in the sense of location of the buying.

A natural breakdown is:

• この町 = this town
• で = in/at (where the action takes place)
• 土地を = land
• 買った = bought

So the sentence means: (I/Someone) bought land in this town.

Why is it で and not に?

Because で is used for the location of an action, while に usually marks things like:

• a destination
• a specific point in time
• the location of existence with verbs like ある and いる
• an indirect target

Buying is an action, so the place where it happened is marked with で.

Compare:

• この町で土地を買った。 = Bought land in this town.
• この町に住んでいる。 = Live in this town.
• この町に行く。 = Go to this town.

So で is the correct particle here because the sentence is about where the buying took place.