The man will come in a boat

Question

Hi teachers,I never understand this correctly.  We were taught "on a boat", but I've been seeing a lot of "in" lately. 1.  The man will come in a boat and pick you up.2.  There is an innocent man on that boat.  &gt;Is it because "come in" an idiom here?&gt;Is it correct to understand that:The man will come in a boat  -  a means of transportationThere is an innocent man on that boat - the location of an innocent manThank you.Tinanam

Avangi · Accepted Answer

There may be something to what you say about "in" being used to compare different modes of transportation.

"What did he come in?"

But this is not the idiomatic way to handle it.

I think we often choose "in" when referring to small vessels.

We would not say, "He came down the river on a canoe."

"Come in" is not related to this issue, by the way.

- A.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

I never understand this correctly. We were taught "on a boat", but I've been seeing a lot of "in" lately. I believe the traditional terms are 'on a boat', 'in a ship'. But in practice, we pretty much intermingle these prepositons.

1. The man will come in a boat and pick you up. Sounds fine.

2. There is an innocent man on that boat. Sounds fine.

>Is it because "come in" an idiom here? Not really.

>Is it correct to understand that:

The man will come in a boat - a means of transportation Not really.

There is an innocent man on that boat - the location of an innocent man Yes.

There's also the interesting question of the difference between a boat and a ship. Often, people interchange these words, but sailors take the view that a boat is something you can put on a ship.

Clive

Avangi · Answer

"In a ship" wins the Google prize by three to two.

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi Avangi, hi Clive,

Thank you very much for your help with this topic.

1. Do you mean these days, you could say it either in / on a boat; in / on a ship?

Would you tell if the preposition usage is correct in these sentences. (I'm sorry it's a bit too dizzy. Please bear with me)

1. "Get on / in the helicoptor", said the pilot.

2. "Hop on / on the helicoptor", said the pilot.

3. "Hop on / in the car", said John.

4. "Get on the bus", said the bus driver.

5. "If you get on / in this elevator, it will take you to the top floor in no time."

6. "She's riding an elevator to 11th floor. She is now in / on the elevator."

7. There are a few people on the lake rowing boats. Mary and John are sitting in / on a white boat with Mary humming a song.

8. The children are in/on a school bus riding home with the driver singing all the way.

9. The other day I got on the subway and rode it all the way to the end.

10. Mary is sitting on / in a train reading a book, waiting for it to leave the station.

11. We were on / in a cable car, taking in the beautiful vista.

Thanks again.

Tinanam

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Here's what sounds OK to me. In pink.

1. Do you mean these days, you could say it either in / on a boat; in / on a ship?

Would you tell if the preposition usage is correct in these sentences. (I'm sorry it's a bit too dizzy. Please bear with me)

1. "Get on / in the helicoptor", said the pilot.

2. "Hop on / on the helicoptor", said the pilot.

3. "Hop on / in the car", said John.

4. "Get on the bus", said the bus driver.

5. "If you get on / in this elevator, it will take you to the top floor in no time."

6. "She's riding an elevator to 11th floor. She is now in / on the elevator."

7. There are a few people on the lake rowing boats. Mary and John are sitting in / on a white boat with Mary humming a song.

8. The children are in/on a school bus riding home with the driver singing all the way.

9. The other day I got on the subway and rode it all the way to the end.

10. Mary is sitting on / in a train reading a book, waiting for it to leave the station.

11. We were on / in a cable car, taking in the beautiful vista.

Clive

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi Clive,

Thank you for your time on this topic.

You have everything I need to know covered.

Have a great day

Tinanam

The man will come in a boat

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