[Grammar] prepositions

[babakhul]

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!

 

[euncu]

***neither a teacher nor a native-speaker***

It depends on the size of chair.

You may sit on a stool or something similar but you sit in an armchair.

 

[TheParser]

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 *****