Sleeping in vs sleeping on

Question

Which is correct?a) He is sleeping in the bed.b) He is sleeping on the bed.

Dimsumexpress · Accepted Answer

Anonymousa)He is sleeping in the bed.
b) He is sleeping on the bed.
A - is better expressed as "he is in bed sleeping", if the question was "where is Johnny?" No article needed

B- is not wrong grammatically, but it is not natural English.

Mister Micawber · Answer

It depends to a certain extent on the contour of the bed and whether or not he is under the covers; in most cases, however, there is no significant difference.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for your feedback. May I clarify further on my question...

a) He is sleeping in the bed.

In this case, the preposition "in" should connote as "inside"?

eg : He is sleeping in the study tonight.

He is sleeping in the car

b) He is sleeping on the bed.

In this instance, why would it be un-natural English, when it means is that the person is resting on top of something?

eg: He is sleeping on the floor.

He is sleeping on the couch.

I would really appreciate your help on this. I am wondering how a person can be inside a bed. Much thanks for helping out.

Mister Micawber · Answer

That is the image, yes.  Keep in mind that it is in part metaphorical, as a bed is not a container or a surface in the same way that a car or a floor is.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

AnonymousIn this instance, why would it be un-natural English, when it means is that the person is resting on top of something?
eg: He is sleeping on the floor. - Fine
He is sleeping on the couch. Also ok

Logical perception is that when somebody is sleeping, he is in bed, may be curled up in under a blanket

, or may be lying on his stomach. In either case, he is said to be "in bed". Notice, no "the".

You can also say " I am studying in bed ". This is an image of me with a book resting on a pillow against the headboard, but I am not 'on bed'.

However, you can be sitting on your bed with a calculator, breaking out in sweat trying to figure how much you owe the IRS.

.

To the learners, sometimes there seems to be no logic with the use of preposition. For instance:
" John is on the boat", but he is in the cabin.

" Mary just got on the bus", not "in the bus", even though she is already inside the bus.

One has to remember the patterns and use them often.

Anonymous · Answer

It depend upon the situation, sitting on the bed means person sitting without cover

sitting in the bed means sitting with cover

Red olive 789 · Answer

I sleep on the bus or I sleep in the bus? Which is correct?

Sleeping in vs sleeping on

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