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Which preposition is correct in each of the sentences of dirt road?

  1. The grass grows on/in the dirt road.
  2. There is a little bush in/on that dirt road.
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  • It should be on.
    – whitedevil
    Commented Jul 25, 2016 at 19:22
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    An obstacle is said to be in the road. Outta my way, you're in the road!
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 25, 2016 at 19:23
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    Sure. Grass can grow on a dirt road. It often does, between the tire tracks and to either side.
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 25, 2016 at 19:45
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    So whether the grass grows on or in, and whether the bush is on or in, depends on your interpretation of where grass and bushes should or should not be. And, of course, that can change from situation to situation. "I swerved into the ditch because a little bush was growing in the road." Or "If you look closely you can see the cute little bush that grows on that road."
    – EllieK
    Commented Jul 25, 2016 at 20:43
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    Additionally, when you use the actual name of the street, such as Second Street, you generally don't use "in" by itself. You would be more likely to use "in the middle of". For example you would not say, "There is a boulder in Second Street." You would say instead, "There is a boulder in the middle of Second Street."
    – EllieK
    Commented Jul 25, 2016 at 20:54

2 Answers 2

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They are somewhat interchangeable, as are many prepositions. In your specific examples I'd go with on:

  1. The grass grows on the dirt road.
  2. There is a little bush on that dirt road.

A quick ngrams search reveals that in Modern English, the phrasing on the road is more common than in the road, which is true in AmE, BrE, and English overall

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Both usages can be correct. They are not, however, interchangeable. Use "in the road" if you wish to convey that the object is blocking the road, keeping in mind that "in the road" is a shortened version of "in the middle of the road".

In fact, the only time things can be "in the road", is when they are in the middle of the road, figuratively speaking. Things can never be "in the side of the road" or "in the edge of the road". Although they can be "on the side of the road" and "on the edge of the road".

Use "on the road" if the object is expected to be on the road.

One drives around that which is in the road. One drives over/past that which is on the road.

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