A house can be 'on fire' or 'in flames'. They can be used interchangeably, but there seems to be a difference of involvement - 'in flames' suggests the house is engulfed by fire, 'on fire' could mean that only part of the house is burning. Maybe the rule is that 'in' indicates a stronger involvement then 'on'. 'On' has a sense of separateness - when a house is 'on fire' you can see the house and the fire as two things. You can put the fire out and the house could remain. 'In flames' suggests that even if you put the fire out, what's left is a very different structure.  Someone 'on parole' is not defined by parole. They have a life and parole is just a part of that. When you're 'in prison', you're not just physically contained, your life is defined by prison.   'I bought a shirt on sale' versus 'I bought a shirt in a sale' stumps me. They seem different but can't quite put my finger on it. The first emphasises the shirt, the second also brings to mind the context of where I bought the shirt.   Is 'on' used when the way you got the shirt is not as important as the shirt itself? And 'in' when the context of buying the shirt is relevant? 'In a sale' brings to mind the jostling and competition between customers looking for cheap shirts.
44677
As it is common with people from my country, I have an immense difficulty with prepositions in English, especially with the use of in and on.   When the preposition indicates the position of the object it is a bit easier to decide which one to use, but as it requires thinking from me, I still say things like "I put the bill in the fridge", "my pencil is on my bag", etc, even though if I think about it, I would know how to say it correctly.  Of course, even in those cases where the preposition indicates position the decision is not always clear, as is the case for example with "on the bus" (you are not on top of the bus, you are inside the bus) or "he is in bed" (you are not inside the bed, you are on top of your bed).  Other cases are even less clear, and I believe there is no real rule to decide what should be said; the person should just know it. Two examples are "in a bad mood", "you are on my mind".  So my first question is whether there is really no rule to help me. The second question refers to two of the cases where I still don't know whether to use in or on:   good luck on/in your exam in/on the list   The last one is especially important to me, as I have asked a number of native speakers, and each time I get a different answer. The only consensus seems to be the case where you say "on top of the list". Apart from that, some people will say that I should say "his name is in the list" whereas others think I should say "his name is on the list". And yeah, a couple of people did tell me that I can use either.  Can someone help me?
110495
I have asked the  in ELL Stackexchange forum. There all the answers and comments I received was really helpful, but still I was looking for something more. So I have decided to ask this same question here also.   I have seen some sentences like this -         The film was announced to be released on this coming Friday.   The film was announced to release on this coming Friday.      Both the sentences are used, and I know they are interchangeable and does bear the same meaning. But I have some doubt about the second sentence - why is it "to release", when the film cant release itself.   Some other sentences of similar structure that arises my confusion -         The product sells well.   The book reads well.   The glass broke.      The sentences are understandable, but in each of the sentences the subjects can't perform any job, as they all are inanimate object. The verbs are active, but they acts like they are used as passive.  Now my question is how to decide which verb to use this way and which not?
15004
What is the correct term to use, or what is the difference between the two?  For instance, if you describe yourself as a founder in a resume it sounds like you founded something alone. In plural form (founders), it suddenly seems more like co-founders - that you didn't do it alone. But I don't know if co-founder alone maybe sounds as if you didn't have a leading role in the founding part.   Hope anyone can clear up my confusion here! Thanks  CC (From Denmark - if the grammar isn't perfect I apologize in advance ;)
61921
When I fenestrate something I put a window into it.  But when I defenestrate I throw someone out of a window.  Why does defenestrate not mean "remove a window"?    As examples - when someone has a detox they remove toxins.  When someone de-clutters they remove clutter.
21346
I recently got a message that says      Haven't heard anything from you in a while.   I always thought that the right way to say this would be to use for insdead of in. Are both versions correct? Would there be a difference in meaning?
108557
Which would be correct?        The fridge, the shelves, the walls, the floor, and John himself, were all covered in foam.   The fridge, shelves, walls, floor, and John himself, were all covered in foam.      The the can be applied to all the nouns, so is there a need to repeat it?
54811
I want to find out the differences in meaning among covered by, covered in, and covered with.  For example, what is the difference between:     covered with blood   covered in blood   or the differences in meaning among     the mountain was covered with snow   the mountain was covered in snow   the mountain was covered by snow
26335
Men, particularly, spend hours of their leisure time installing their own fireplaces, laying out their own gardens; building garages and making furniture.   I do not understand the use of the semicolon (";") after "gardens" in the sentence above, could someone help?   Thanks
62185
Reading an old  I found this sentence (you must hover the mouse over the picture to see it):     There are probably children out there holding down spacebar to stay warm in the winter!   I've never heard "in the winter", only "in winter". I've found a discussion on , where they seem to say that there is not much difference and it comes down to personal taste, but they don't sound like they are sure. The user that asked the question suggests that this might be a difference between American English and British English, but at that point no one answered.  So, what's the difference between "in winter" and "in the winter"?
25162
I just saw a , where one of the characters says:     it must be cast back in the fire from whence it came!   This struck me as odd, since I expected them to say "whence it came"; but now I find that "from whence" seems to occur as well.  Does anybody know whether this is correct, or whether it has been correct at some point and subsequently fell into disgrace (or vice versa)?
91938
If the context is crystal clear and, as such, allows no risk of misunderstanding or ambiguity whatsoever, unlike "Paul jumps into the lake (= Paul jumps into the lake from a certain point)" vs. "Paul jumps in the lake (= Paul is in the lake and jumps out)", is it grammatically acceptable in AmE to substitute "in" and "on" for "into" and "onto" to indicate movement or the idea of movement, for all but the most formal prose?  E.g.  Should we go in the pool first, or should we shower first?   Let's get on the bus before the good seats are taken.   Let me translate this in the language of non-BS...
98168
I sometimes see cases where off is followed by of, and it sounds awkward to me. For example, I would prefer     This story is based on a true story.   to     This story is based off of a true   story.   What do native speakers think/prefer? Should I avoid that kind of usage?
7051
He lives on Main Street.   This sentence is from "Merriam-Webster " Dictionary.  But I found both usage " in the street" and "on the street." on ngram.  What is the difference between them, "live on street" or "live in street".
12248
In one of Oasis's songs — Cigarettes and Alcohol — there are two sentences that make me confused:     All I found was cigarettes and alcohol   ...and...     All I need is cigarettes and alcohol   Why would is and was be correct in these sentences instead of are and were, since they're referring to more than one thing?
111058
Are both expressions correct? If yes, do they have different meanings? It seems to me that I came across both of them in books, but I'm not sure.
97072
What is the difference between the two sentences below? Are they the same or different in meaning?     Jack and Laura's new house is almost ready.      Jack's and Laura's new house is almost ready.   To my perception, the first says two of them have one house and the second says each one has a (different) house (which is almost ready). Is my perception correct?  EDIT: If I don't use "houses" instead of "house" (for my second interpretation), does it mean the sentence is wrong?
91122
My grammar book says that if you saw the complete action you use do/get/drive: &quot;I saw him fall off the wall.&quot; Otherwise you use -ing: &quot;I saw him standing at the bus stop.&quot; A native American speaker said that he doesn't agree with that and there is no difference whether you use -ing or not. He said that particularly in these situations I can use either verb without affecting the meaning:  —How do you know I took the money? —I know it because I saw you take / taking it. —How did the woman fall? —I don't know. I didn't see her fall / falling.   He couldn't come up with a situation where this rule makes sense. But I tried to come up with such situation and he said that in this case it can be true.  I saw him eat the whole plate of pasta.  He ate everything that was on the plate. I saw him finish it.  I saw him eating the whole plate of pasta.  I saw how he was eating from a plate full of pasta. But I'm not sure whether he ate everything or not. I didn't see him finish it.  Please comment on what has been said. And give your opinion about this rule.