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Hi I tried to look for a grammatical explanation for the usage of "in" and "on" in this context (please see examples below) but I couldn't find any. Why is sentence A and C are correct but sentence B and D are wrong?

A) The girl in the red dress.
B) The girl on the red dress.
C) The girl with the red dress on.
D) The girl with the red dress in.

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2 Answers 2

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To have an article of clothing on means to be wearing it.

This pattern

The {person} with a {article of clothing} on

can be understood as

The {person} with a {article of clothing} on {the person}

So you can see that the preposition in would not work there:

The {person} with a {article of clothing} in {the person}

The girl with a red dress in [her] ungrammatical

The girl with a red dress on [her] OK

To be in an article of clothing also means to be wearing it, but the person is inside the clothing. With on, the clothing is on the outside of the person. It is simply a matter of how one conceptualizes clothing: are we in it or is it on us?

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  • Is "on" also an adjective in this case?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented May 18 at 11:32
  • Explaining the meaning in a simple way to learners is a rather different thing than answering the theoretical question "What licenses it?" I think on can be analyzed as a state predicated of the preceding noun and the preceding noun licenses the predicate. "The woman has her hat on". Similar to "The woman likes her coffee black". We can't say "The woman likes her coffee on" or "The woman has her hat black".
    – TimR
    Commented May 18 at 12:04
  • "She puts her hat on" In that case is "on" an adjective only because we can say "She takes her coffee black" ? The word black can precede the noun e.g. black coffee but on by itself can't precede the noun "on hat" or be modified by "very" e.g. very black coffee (Y) very on hat or hat very on (N) Something can be "blacker" but I've never heard anything being described as "onner" maybe something is "more on than off" but in that case "on" is a noun, not an adjective
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented May 18 at 13:35
  • It's an ungradable adjective, hence no comparative/superlative. Just as with "black" coffee there's no gradability either. And we don't say "It's an on light." and yet people still understand "on" in "The light is on" to refer its state (a role typically taken by adjectives), and some reasonable people do call "on" an adjective there.
    – TimR
    Commented May 18 at 16:03
  • Something can be blacker, it's uncommon, but it's used. I don't think black is an absolute adjective which being the reasonable person you are (so anyone who disagrees is unreasonable?) is why you did not say "She likes her coffee white". However, there is "the blackest paint" in the world! :)
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented May 18 at 16:22
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A and C are correct if the right answer is "which sentences mean the girl is wearing the dress."

Only D is really wrong.

The girl in the red dress

X in Y is used when Y surrounds X on a couple or more sides, or Y is a container of some sort. This means the same as "The girl wearing the red dress."

The girl on the red dress

X on Y is used when Y is flat and X is above it and making contact with it. So this means the girl is sitting/standing on top of the dress, not wearing it.

The girl with the red dress on

On here is being used as an adverb to mean "physically in contact with and supported by a surface", which is also used to mean "that is being worn by her."

The girl with the red dress in

In can similarly be used as an adverb to mean "that is inside of X". Unless the word "girl" means "something that is shaped like a girl but can be used to contain items" this sentence won't make any sense since you cannot put a dress inside of a girl.

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  • Sorry forgot to make it clearer. The context is that a girl who is standing on the floor is wearing a red dress. So by this context I assume "B" is wrong?
    – user54219
    Commented Sep 6, 2017 at 13:23

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