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Guyper Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
A question about "in" and "on"
Okay, this is my theory regarding "in" and "on" prepositions by comparing those sentences below to each other
1."The house is on fire"
The "on" seems, to me, to indicate the state of the house, and it's on fire
2."The house is in good repair"
"I must put my affairs in order"
The "in" in each of the 2 sentences seem to also indicate the state of the objects. The house is in a repair state, and the affairs, in order state
And here's my question regarding this now. How do I exactly know when to use "on" instead of "in"to describe a state on an object or vice versa?
Thank you
1."The house is on fire"
The "on" seems, to me, to indicate the state of the house, and it's on fire
2."The house is in good repair"
"I must put my affairs in order"
The "in" in each of the 2 sentences seem to also indicate the state of the objects. The house is in a repair state, and the affairs, in order state
And here's my question regarding this now. How do I exactly know when to use "on" instead of "in"to describe a state on an object or vice versa?
Thank you
Top answer
Here's my attempt: I think of "on fire" as an idiom meaning that the house has caught fire, and at least some part of it is burning. "In fire" would mean completely emerged in flames. Anton EDIT: Also see:
- Here's my attempt: I think of "on fire" as an idiom meaning that the house has caught fire, and at least some part of it is burning.
- "In fire" would mean completely emerged in flames.
- Anton EDIT: Also see:
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2 Answers
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Here's my attempt:
I think of "on fire" as an idiom meaning that the house has caught fire, and at least some part of it is burning.
"In fire" would mean completely emerged in flames.
Anton
EDIT: Also see:
I think of "on fire" as an idiom meaning that the house has caught fire, and at least some part of it is burning.
"In fire" would mean completely emerged in flames.
Anton
EDIT: Also see:
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GuyperHow do I exactly know when to use "on" instead of "in"to describe a state on an object or vice versa?By reading and listening to English as much as possible and remembering which preposition is used in each case. Write these expressions down and drill yourself on them until they become very familiar to you. Many choices of preposition are simply tradi
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