[Grammar] I live in Long Road.

[murat_turkey]

I am having difficulty in using prepositions. Can anyone check these sentences to see if the prepositions are used correctly?

- I live in Long Road.
- My house is on Long Road.
- My mother is on the pavement.

 

[GoesStation]

The answer depends on the variant of English. In the American variety we'd say:
- I live on Long Road.
- My house is on Long Road.
- My mother is on the sidewalk.

The last sentence is a little odd. It could be understood to mean that she's lying down on the sidewalk.

 

[jutfrank]

on is correct in all three sentences in the British variant too, and would definitely be the preposition that I'd teach.

 

[emsr2d2]

As a child, I lived in a house that stood in a relatively short road. When I lived there, I always said "I live in Hatfield Avenue". I now live in a property that stands on a much longer road and I now say "I live on Connaught Road". The only difference is the length of the road. If I lived just round the corner from where I do, in what is a much shorter road, I would revert to using "in" and say "I live in Maybrook Road".

This is the first time I've ever tried to work out why I change prepositions and the length of the road is the only thing I can think of. I do the same with shops. For example, if someone asked me where the shop Anandis is, I would tell them that it's in Shaftesbury Gardens, which happens to be a small pedestrianised road in the middle of the older part of my town. If they asked me where Waitrose is, I would tell them that it's on Eastern Road, which is a long wide road right in the centre of the main shopping area.

(Those aren't the real names of the roads involved.)

 

[Tdol]

You might be onto something there- I wouldn't say in with a street.

 

[emsr2d2]

You might be onto something there- I wouldn't say in with a street.

Since none of my examples used "street", I had to think about what I would use. I think the same rule applies (in my brain, at least). My aunt used to live in a very small village which really had just one residential road and it was called "The Street". I would have used "in The Street (+ name of village)" if I had to give her address.

However, coming back to shops, we do refer to them being "on the high street" quite a lot.

 

[jutfrank]

However, coming back to shops, we do refer to them being "on the high street" quite a lot.

I have a lot of thoughts on this subject, but I'm reluctant to write out a 500-word post trying to explain what I see as the differences in usage. Suffice to say, emsr2d2, that I think your view of the length of the road being the determining factor is a very good way of thinking about it.

But in terms of your comment about the High Street, may I ask out of curiosity whether you might use in the High Street if you were talking about where you lived rather than where a shop was?

 

[Tdol]

I have lived on a long High Street, and in a very short Park Road. I would use on for Green Lanes, which people told me is the longest street in London, however that is defined.

 

[emsr2d2]

But in terms of your comment about the High Street, may I ask out of curiosity whether you might use in the High Street if you were talking about where you lived rather than where a shop was?

I think that the same (subconscious) rule would apply. If the High Street in question was a long major road, I would probably say I live on High Street (no article).