In /inside/on + a place?

Question

Hello everyone,Which of the following sentences makes sense? A) There are three ducks on the pond.B) There are three ducks in the pond.C) There are five cows in the fence.D) There are five cows inside the fence.It's hard for me to decide which preposition should be used. Can someone help me? Thanks a lot!

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

A) There are three ducks on the pond. -- OK.

B) There are three ducks in the pond. -- Also possible.

C) There are five cows in the fence. -- No.

D) There are five cows inside the fence. -- OK if you specially want to emphasise the fence. However, you would normally say "in the field" or similar, and it would be assumed that some sort of fence or other barrier was in place.

Wenwen · Answer

Hey,

Thanks for answering my questions.

Two further question:

1. When I am on a farm, can I say "there are a herd of sheep on the grass" when they're outside the fence? Or should I simply say "there are a herd of sheep in the field"?

2. What's the difference between "in the field" and "on the field"?

Thanks again! ^_^

Mr Wordy · Answer

1. I prefer "There is a herd of sheep on the grass." This does not, by itself, say anything about the presence or absence of fences, or about where the sheep might be located in relation to the fences. It just means that there is a piece of grass with a group of sheep on it.

A "field" normally refers to an enclosed area of land, so "There is a herd of sheep in the field" implies that there is a fence or other barrier preventing the sheep from straying.

2. The differences seem mostly idiomatic -- in other words, there are no clear logical rules to explain why you would use one or the other in any given situation. (This is often the case with English prepositions.) When talking about animals, "in the field" is usual, though "on" is not impossible. "on the field" is most often used in relation to sport. For example, you would say that a football player is "on the field".

Mr Wordy · Answer

Oh ... I forgot to mention ... we say "herd of cows" (and various other animals), but often we say "flock of sheep" rather than "herd of sheep".

In /inside/on + a place?

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