1

I want to know what the right expression is? 'the rope on the garden' or 'the rope in the garden'?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

"On" indicates "atop of". "In" indicates "physically enclosed".

I'm not sure if by "garden" hear you mean in the English or American sense. (English garden = large grassy area, possibly with trees, flowers, etc. American garden = small plot of flowers or edible plants.) But either way, a garden is normally thought of as an "area", not as the plants themselves. So you can be "in" this area, but you can't really be "on" it. You can be standing "on" the grass or "on" the flowers, but you can't be "on the garden". If the rope is lying somewhere behind your house, you'd say it's "in the garden", not "on the garden".

If the garden was enclosed in a box and the rope was on top of the box, you might say it was "on the garden". But that's an unlikely scenario.

More likely, if someone was trampling your flowers, walking through your flower garden in big boots and destroying all the flowers, you might possibly say, "Hey, he's walking on my garden!" But I think the more likely thing to say would be, "He's walking on my flowers."

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    We usually say 'on the playground'. What is the difference between garden and playground?
    – 박용현
    Commented Feb 11, 2016 at 15:36
  • 1
    Good point, and if that's the analogy you were thinking of, I see your confusion. Some of these are just convention. You are "in" a city, state, province, or country. You are "at" a building unless you are physically inside it. You can say "in the park" or "at the park". You are "at" a playing field, like a football field or a playground, when we are referring to the place in general, that might include seats for spectators, rest rooms, etc. But the field itself is "on": "Bob is at the field" but "Both teams are now on the field".
    – Jay
    Commented Feb 11, 2016 at 15:46
  • Yes, I can see that this can be confusing, rules can seem arbitrary, and in some cases it may be easier to just memorize the individual cases rather than try to find logic behind them.
    – Jay
    Commented Feb 11, 2016 at 15:47
  • 1
    "Honey, the bear is sitting on the garden.""Don't you mean in the garden.""No, he's on the garden.""Oh well, so much for my new plantings."
    – Peter
    Commented Feb 11, 2016 at 15:55

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .