We can say "the toy is in here" when we see the toy in the box.
Can we say "the toy is on here" when we see the toy on the box?
Is "on here" as common as "in here"?
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For what it's worth, I think the dearth of answers so far is because you've asked a surprisingly good question. The answer is no, it is not, but I can't seem to pin down any reason why.– the-baby-is-youJul 25, 2020 at 10:07
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2on here and in here mean completely different things with regard to physical objects.– LambieJul 25, 2020 at 13:48
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In your picture, it is incorrect to say that the toy car is "in" the box. The toy is on the box (or on top of the box). If the toy were in the box, we would not be able to see it because the box is not transparent.– chasly - supports MonicaDec 20, 2020 at 11:17
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I think the picture is meant to go with the following sentence, not the preceding sentence.– nschneidNov 13, 2021 at 4:47
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3 Answers
I wouldn't use it in this context because it's obvious where the toy car is. However, if someone had mislaid an object and I had seen that object on a side table near to me, I might say "Look! It's on here."
answered Jul 25, 2020 at 10:14
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As Kate says. More commonly people would name the object on which the car sits, as in it's on the box/table/bed/shelf. Jul 25, 2020 at 13:21
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@Lambie The toy is on here if the car was sitting on its box right in front of me. Jul 25, 2020 at 18:26
Is "on here" as common as "in here"?
To ask which is more common is a strange question because "on here" and "in here" have different meanings.
Note
If you really need to know which is more common among expressions, it is a good idea to use Google nGram as shown here in here, on here. As you can see, "in here" is much more common than "on here". However that is simply because it is more usual to be in things than on things. For example you would expect someone to be in a car but it is rarer to see someone on a car.
answered Dec 20, 2020 at 10:05
My guess is that "on here" is grammatical but less useful to indicate where a small object is. If a toy is on top of a box, it is probably visible, so one can simply point to the toy and say "it is here". Whereas if the toy is inside the box, it may not be visible, so one would point at the box and say "it is in here".
Like @Kate Bunting points out, there may be certain situations where it makes sense to refer to a surface as the answer to where something is. But usually it is simpler to point to the object directly.