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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

ON where IN used to be?

Hi,

I notice that even in "purely British" (eg, BBC) online materials the usage "ON Oxford Street" is more frequent than "IN Oxford Street"). Is it a real "trend"? Or I am just wrong here?

I have seen SEVERAL English textbooks that claim "ON the street" is common in AmEng whereas "IN the street" is prefered by BrEng speakers?... The reality is more complicated?

Thank you!

mus-te
  

Top answer

The British National Corpus has 47 citations for on Oxford Street, and seven for in Oxford Street. That's about what I would have expected - nearly seven times as many on s as in s.

— Fivejedjon

  • The British National Corpus has 47 citations for on Oxford Street, and seven for in Oxford Street.
  • That's about what I would have expected - nearly seven times as many on s as in s.
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3 Answers
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The British National Corpus has 47 citations for on Oxford Street, and seven for in Oxford Street.That's about what I would have expected - nearly seven times as many ons as ins.
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MUSCOVITE The reality is more complicated?
Yes. On the street is used in British English, too, to some extent and is the only choice for certain meanings: She is on the street again. (= She is a prostitute) This extract is from English Prepositional Idioms by Frederik T Wood and describes British usage:

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One really needs to note that Woods's book was published some 45 years ago, I have the impression that 'on' is becoming more used these days in BrE. I still think that 'in' is far more commonly used, except for certain idioms in which 'on' has always been used.
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