On/At preposition

Question

I would like others to tell me which one is correct. Are there any differences?

1. We were ON TOP OF the mountain.
2. We were ON THE TOP OF the mountain.
3. We were AT THE TOP OF the mountain.

Thank you!

Answer 1

We were ON TOP OF the mountain.

We were on the mountain. For a mountain specifically, this implies that we were literally at the top. However, the statement would still be true if you were midway up the mountain. You might also say it if you were in a helicopter hovering over the mountain.

We were ON THE TOP OF the mountain.

We were AT THE TOP OF the mountain.

In this case "on" and "at" mean approximately the same thing.

Which you choose would be based on what you want to emphasize. If you want to emphasize the height, e.g. to show how high you climbed, you would say you were "on the top of the mountain!" If you want to emphasize your location, e.g. if someone asked why you missed dinner, you would say you were "at the top of the mountain!"