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发表于 2017-11-14 07:58
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来自： 中国上海
quora上一个英语老师的回答
Chris Aubeck
Chris Aubeck, English teacher, translator, proofreader, author.
Originally Answered: English Grammar: Why are you on a bus or train but in a car?
The general rule:
For vehicles, anything considered to have a large floor space is ON and a small floor space is IN.
The reason:
For walled vehicles, large floor spaces are considered platforms, small floors are considered containers.
Therefore it's in a car, in a small boat, in a helicopter, in a rocket, in a hot air balloon, in a small plane (think of a an old biplane). A lift would be in.
But we say on a train, on a ship, on the space shuttle, etc.
When the platform has no walls (i.e. it is not an enclosure) we say on, too. So it's on a stage, on a table, on a horse, on a bike, on a skateboard. If we confuse on with in in these cases the visual image becomes very different: in a horse means you physically enter the horse's body, for example. A motorbike would also be on.
Because the language is dynamic, and because it is old, some exceptions will emerge but this is the basic rule. Some regional differences also exist, and sometimes in and on have slightly different uses even for the same transport, but if you stick to the general rule you'll rarely be wrong. Once you begin to visualize objects as platforms or surfaces, on becomes logical too for other kinds of things: on a screen, on paper, on a page, and so on.
Visualize this:
In a car, on the car roof.
On a chair (no walls), in an armchair (three walls but note some people say on because it's a chair), on a sofa (larger surface).
Edit: When I wrote this I had no idea people would find it useful, so thanks for your comments both private and otherwise. The above is not a full explanation, there is more. When we consider transport we should focus on this idea: on = surface, and therefore on = board/platform. If the transport is considered predominantly a container rather than a platform, expect to find “in” (a typical elevator, for example).
There are a lot of alternative explanations online (the idea that it's a matter of “balance,” for example), but in my 26 years of teaching, I find the information in this post is what usually gives English language learners that Eureka! moment. I didn't delve into the etymology of “on” and “in” because language students don't require it and it doesn't help in this case, but it's fascinating too.
There are interesting exceptions to the “surface” rule but nothing too complicated. Hands, for example, are in for the palm side, on for the back of your hand, when referring to objects located there, even if the hand is not closed. However, dirt or stains on the skin are always on. Rather than exceptions, you can consider them useful extensions to the basic rule.
In class I also teach on = contact. This is true in all physical cases (I write cONtact on the board).
I could also go into the extended use of ON and IN for electric devices and non-physical cases but the question hasn't come up.
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