Hi there!
I’m Drew Badger, the world’s #1 English Fluency Guide!
In this video, I’ll share a lesson my personal students really enjoyed that will help you
understand the prepositions ON and IN the NATIVE way so YOU can use them correctly,
and without hesitation.
When you THINK more like a native English speaker, you’ll SPEAK more like one!
Makes sense?
Well, this real-life lesson happened when I was reading a book to my daughter.
My Japanese mother-in-law, who also knows some English, was listening to the story…
When I read, "The bears were sitting IN picnic chairs," my mother-in-law asked why the bears
were IN the chairs, rather than ON them.
"I learned in school that you use ON for chairs," she said.
Now, ON CAN be used for chairs, but rather than using a rule or translation, try to think
about sitting like a NATIVE…
In the book, the chairs had ARMRESTS and BACKS, which made the seating area more like a BOX
you’d sit IN.
But the lesson goes deeper...
Natives actually have TWO different ideas in their heads, even if they don’t know
it, when they think about sitting.
And this is why people can use IN or ON and be "correct" either way, most of the time.
Sitting IN something refers to being IN a 3D space extending above the top of an object
(like an invisible box), even for chairs that have no armrests.
But natives can also talk about someone sitting ON a 2D space (like an invisible piece of
paper) that’s ON a chair.
See how BOTH IN and ON can be correct, though they have slightly different meanings?
THIS way of thinking about situations and words is what helps you develop a native's
"sense of correctness.”
This is the “FEELING” that helps you say the right thing at the right time, WITHOUT
thinking about any rules!
You just SEE the idea of being IN or ON a chair, like a native does, so you can express
EITHER meaning automatically.
Great, right?!
Now, test yourself with a quick quiz to see if you’re thinking more like a native:
Would you sit IN or ON these school chairs?
Either is OK!
You can sit IN or ON a school chair because you could be talking about the 3D space above
the chair or the 2D space on the seat.
What about this wheelchair?
IN or ON?
Again, either would be OK.
Though we usually talk about being IN a wheelchair because of the armrests, and because it’s
a tool designed to support someone.
What about this piano bench?
ON or IN?
Here, there is a 3D space above the bench, but most natives would say you’re ON the
bench because it has no back or armrests.
What about this hammock?
ON or IN?
You could say you’re ON the hammock to describe being ON the sitting area.
But see how the hammock comes up around you?
This is why most natives say someone’s IN a hammock.
Next, what about this couch, also called a sofa?
IN or ON?
We usually sit ON a sofa or couch because there’s space for more than one person.
We don’t have that same feeling of being IN something, like with a chair, because we
think more about the larger 2D space for sitting.
Finally, what if, instead of a person, we’re talking about a pen?
Would a pen be sitting ON or IN a chair?
This one’s a bit tricky, but like a person sitting ON a couch, a pen is very small compared
to the sitting area of a chair.
So, we talk about the pen being ON the chair!
A pen doesn’t really seem CONTAINED by a chair the way a larger person is.
This is why natives say small things like pens, cups or even cats are ON a chair, even
if the chair has armrests.
Congratulations!
You’re now thinking more like a native about sitting!
That was easy and fun, right?
To finally reach fluency, all you have to do is REPEAT this process with more situations
until you “FEEL” the language automatically.
And this can happen much faster than most learners believe, even if you’ve struggled
to get fluent for years!
If you’d like to learn more about how to think like a native so you speak like one,
click on the link in this video, or on the link in the description below this video,
to tell me what your biggest communication problem is.
Answer 5 quick questions and I’ll send you a free, PERSONALIZED guide that will help
you start speaking more like a native TODAY!
You’re already feeling a bit more fluent with this simple video, and you’ll learn
a LOT more about how to improve your fluency in your free, personalized guide.
So click on the link in this video, or on the link in the description below this video,
to tell me about yourself.
It takes less than a minute, and you can download your free guide instantly!
Thanks for watching, and see you next time!