Preposition ON

Question

Hey guys, I have a doubt about the preposition "ON" in (or "on"?) a very specific use. I understand, from what a teacher has told me, that when it refers to places, I use "ON" for contacts and "IN" when there is the idea of "inside". But this seems to be applicable for simple uses, as "The pen is in my pocket", "The book is on the table". For a range use, as prepositions are very interchangeable, it's very confusing to me to select the best use other then selecting what sounds more natural.

So I read the sentence "I have learned the use of present perfect on the sentences". It sounds natural to me, but a friend of mine said it was incorrect, as it should have been read "I have learned the use of present perfect in the sentences". He also explained it as it is "inside the sentence", but for me it has an idea of contact, as in "on the book", "on the poem", "on the board". Can you give me some thoughts on it?

I'm a teacher myself, and this basic knowledge really confuses me.
Most natural to me would be "I have learned the use of present perfect on sentences", since the sentences aren't specific anyway.

Looking forward to a repply.

Thanks,
Bárbara.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hello, Barbara—and welcome to English Forums.

Yes, the verb is in (within) the sentence, just like my word 'within' is in parentheses.

CalifJim · Answer

barbarabarbaraIt sounds natural to me, but a friend of mine said it was incorrect

I imagine a great many wrong words sound natural to those who don't yet know English extremely well. Once you begin to use the correct words and hear them again and again, you will change your mind about what sounds natural and what doesn't. It's a simple matter of frequency of contact with the correct words.

Explanations in terms of the most basic uses of words like "in" and "on" almost inevitably fail when applied to less basic uses. No matter how much logic you apply, it doesn't work. As you have pointed out, sentences are abstract. They can't be treated like enclosures (in) or like surfaces (on). Or if they can, it is only by a great stretch of the imagination.

It seems to me, therefore, that you have two choices. You can make up a story for yourself in which you bend reality enough to think of sentences as enclosures somehow, maybe by imagining a sentence in the shape of a house, or whatever strikes your fancy, in effect, establishing a mnemonic for yourself. Or you can just repeat "in the sentence", "in the sentence", "in the sentence" until it sounds right.

CJ

Barbarabarbara · Answer

Thanks for the reply. I'll try to repeat it to myself until it becomes natural.

Bárbara.

Barbarabarbara · Answer

hehe Nice reply! Thanks.

Preposition ON

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