I want to enquire from the brethren whether they can guide me to the usage of 'in' as a preposition indicating position or place i.e. He sat on the chair or in the chair!
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello, Babakhul.
(1) This can be very confusing -- even to native speakers.
(2) Maybe (this is only my guess) that most Americans prefer
"in" a chair in most situations.
(3) Some ESL books say the "correct" preposition is "on" ;
other books say both are correct.
(4) I found these two examples:
I sat in a comfortable chair.
I sat in my favorite chair.
(Maybe "chair" in this case means "armchair." As Enucu told you, we
always use "in" for armchairs. (Maybe because we are "inside"
something -- only my idea!)
(5) I found a very good idea from someone who teaches English on the
Web:
(a) He gives two interesting sentences:
Martha was in the chair. = was sitting.
Martha was on the chair. = was standing.
(6) Remember, we ALWAYS sit
on a sofa
on a couch
on a bench
on a stool (as Enucu told you)
(7) In summary:
(a) Both are "correct."
(b) I suggest that you use "in" a chair.
***** Thank you *****