I read this phrase sit out there in your car from an article, and the prepositions of out and in look weird to me since they are mutually opposite. Does it mean that you are sitting in your car while the car's door is open?
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1The car is out there (probably outside the house where the speaker is) and the person is sitting in it.– Kate BuntingCommented Mar 23, 2022 at 10:45
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'Sit out there' in your shed or tent are also possible.– Michael HarveyCommented Mar 23, 2022 at 11:12
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Sorry for omitting the context. So this article is about judging people who are pretending to speak to their phone even though there is no one on the other side of the phone, typically because they are trying to conceal their inner thoughts such as showing off their ring tones, fearing for their physical safety while being followed and stuff. A man sitting out there in his car, as I wrote above, was phoning to a nonexistent person for avoiding meeting people emerging from the entrance in a mall.– wonderfulwonderCommented Mar 23, 2022 at 11:19
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And the reason why it confused me is that the man assumes that people might wonder why he is sitting out there in his car, which looks strange to them, which is not to me. I can't figure out why sitting out there in one's car would be strange. Or am I just making a big deal about it?– wonderfulwonderCommented Mar 23, 2022 at 11:46
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The prepositions have two separate functions entirely. sit out there||in your car.– LambieCommented Mar 23, 2022 at 13:16
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2 Answers
adverbials like out there, in there, around here, around there, up here, down here, near here, faraway from here, etc. are very used in English, especially in speech regarding location relative to the speaker.
He was down here in his boat all weekend and never said a word. [south of Sydney]
You were sitting out there in your car all afternoon. What was the matter? [outside the house or building]
I was up there all weekend but didn't see you. [north of New York]
Have you been around here long on the roof terrace?
The adverbial phrases locate the speaker to another person or space/place. there and here are markers of place in English and are often accompanied by prepositions.
- sit out there= verb + adverbial with preposition and there.
- sit in your car= prepositional phrase with the verb.
The two have been combined to form: sit out there in your car.
Compare: Hang around in here in the house all day. Same idea.
There is no contradiction. The person being spoken to is simultaneously:
- sitting out there (not in here where the speaker is, perhaps inside the house)
- sitting in your car
That is, they are not in the house (for example), they are outside, in their car.
