diamondcutter
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2014
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- Chinese
- Home Country
- China
- Current Location
- China
If we want to say what we can see in a painting or picture, we use the preposition “in”. For example,
What a beautiful painting! There are many flowers in it.
We don’t use the preposition “on” because the flowers are not on the surface of the painting. They are just the content of the painting. But I read this sentence in a novel named Mr. Wacky Is Wacky! (by Dan Gutman):
Abraham Lincoln’s face on the peny.
Lincoln’s face image is also the content of the coin and not on the surface of it. I don’t quite understand why “on” is used not “in”.
And there’s another similar sentence in the book:
Benjamin Franklin is on the hundred-dollar bill.
What a beautiful painting! There are many flowers in it.
We don’t use the preposition “on” because the flowers are not on the surface of the painting. They are just the content of the painting. But I read this sentence in a novel named Mr. Wacky Is Wacky! (by Dan Gutman):
Abraham Lincoln’s face on the peny.
Lincoln’s face image is also the content of the coin and not on the surface of it. I don’t quite understand why “on” is used not “in”.
And there’s another similar sentence in the book:
Benjamin Franklin is on the hundred-dollar bill.