on or in

[Abdullah Matrafi]

Dear all,

I came across these two sentences in a book but I'm not sure which preposition is correct and what is the explanation for that.

'The car is on/in the street.'

Is one American and the other BE?

Thanks in advance for the answers.

[bhaisahab]

Dear all,

I came across these two sentences in a book but I'm not sure which preposition is correct and what is the explanation for that.

'The car is on/in the street.'

Is one American and the other BE?

Thanks in advance for the answers.

In the context of your sentence, "on the street" would be used mainly by AmE speakers and "in the street" mainly BrE.

[Sohrab Khan]

Both are correct.

The car is on the street.= AmE

Because in America streets are considered as lines on a map.

The car is on the street. BrE

This is also possible when it means 'The car is blocking the street.'

The car is in the street. = BrE

When it means it is on the side of the street. In British English street is a road surrounded by buildings.

[Barb_D]

In the US, if you say "in the street" you mean the part where the cars drive.

You can park "on the street" to mean along the side, not the part where cars drive.
If your car is "in the street" (and isn't moving), then you are blocking traffic.