Preposition 'on'

Question

'What do you think on his books?', 'He made a video on life in Thailand' etc.  I'd learned English for a year, before I ran into this use of the preposition 'on'. I'm still a little confused about it. Can you answer some of my questions? 1) Is there any difference between 'about' and 'on'? For example, on Youtube I notice that people'd prefer to use 'on' in titles of the videos than using 'about', like 'Neil Patrick Harris on his kids', 'Facts on 9/11' etc. Is there an unwritten rule that in titles 'on' is better? or for instance, I want to say 'I want to talk about it right now', and 'I want to talk on it right now' just doesn't sound correctly, so are there any boundaries of 'on's use? I hope I made it clear what I wanted to say) Thanks in advance for your help!

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

on ~ on the subject of ~ on the topic of

What do you think on his books? is wrong. You aren't asking someone to speak (or think) on the topic of his books. "think" and "on" don't go together like that.

a video on (the subject of) life in Thailand is correct. Likewise, an essay on the European Union, a paragraph on maple syrup, a newspaper article on voting fraud, a speech on the latest medical discoveries, ...

Titles have nothing to do with it. Neil Patrick Harris on His Kids, as a title, uses "on" just as described above. Harris speaks on the topic of his kids in the video with that title. The title could have been Neil Patrick Harris Talks about His Kids, and it would have meant the same thing. [Person] on [Subject] is just a short way of saying that the person talks about and gives opinion on that subject. Obama on Syria, Merkel on Immigration, J.S. Mill on Liberty.

I want to talk on it right now is strange. If you want to talk on a topic, you usually say what topic it is, not just "it". Besides, you "give a talk on (a topic)". The famous Hollywood star will give a talk on writing screenplays tonight.

CJ

Preposition 'on'

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