"in" or "on"?

[jiang]

Dear teachers,


It is bounded on the southeast by the South China Sea.

I think the correct prep. should be in. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Rover_KE]

Please use a larger font and tell us what 'it' refers to.

Rover

[jiang]

Hi Rover,

Thank you very much for your reply.
"It" refers to "a country".

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance,

Jiang

Please use a larger font and tell us what 'it' refers to.

Rover

[allenman]

Dear teachers,

It is bounded on the southeast by the South China Sea.

I think the correct prep. should be in. Is that right?

No. The original "on" is correct.

Not a teacher - AmE native

[jiang]

Hi allenman,

Could you please explain why "on" is correct? Or why "in" isn't correct?

Looking forward to haring from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

No. The original "on" is correct.

Not a teacher - AmE native

[riquecohen]

Hi allenman,

Could you please explain why "on" is correct? Or why "in" isn't correct?
There is no explanation. That's English.
Looking forward to haring from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Many nouns, verbs and adjectives are used with particlar prepositions: we say congratulations on, arrive at, angry with somebody, on a bus. There are not many rules to help you choose correctly in these cases, so you have to learn each expression separately. (Practical English Usage, Michael Swan)

[jiang]

Hi riquecohen,

Thank you so much for your explanation. I got confused because in the following sentence in Longman Dictionary "in" is used:

The US is bounded in the north by Canada and in the south by Mexico.

Could you please kindly explain that?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Many nouns, verbs and adjectives are used with particlar prepositions: we say congratulations on, arrive at, angry with somebody, on a bus. There are not many rules to help you choose correctly in these cases, so you have to learn each expression separately. (Practical English Usage, Michael Swan)

[riquecohen]

I would be very pleased if a BrE-speaker responded to Jiang's last question. Is there a difference here between AmE and BrE?

[Tdol]

For me, using is bounded doesn't sound very natural- I don't know about other BrE speakers.

[jiang]

Dear Tdol,

Thank you very much for your reply. What about "in" and "on"?

Also I have a long list of "friends" but only two are shown.

Jiang

For me, using is bounded doesn't sound very natural- I don't know about other BrE speakers.