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ESL forum >
Ask for help > get in get on
get in get on
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colita
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get in get on
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Hi! I �m not an English native speaker that �s why when it comes down to semantics, I do have trouble...Recently a student asked me to explain the difference between the use of "get in" and "get on" to refer to means of transportation. I don �t have the slightest idea...I know when to use them but why that happens is unknown to me...please help! How can I explain the use of both? |
20 Jun 2011
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pilarmham
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In general, you use get on for public means of transport (buses, trains, planes, etc.) and get in for private ones like a car. |
20 Jun 2011
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almaz
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Although the general rule generally holds true for the specific examples you give, Maria, you �d never get on a (public) taxi or get in your (private) bike. I �d suggest just learning how the expressions collocate with various means of transport. What, for example, would you use with skis, a rickshaw, a cart or a hot-air balloon?
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20 Jun 2011
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yanogator
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Here �s a generalization that usually works: If you are physically on it, like a bike or skis, it is get on. If you can walk around inside it (bus, train, plane), it is get on. If you can �t walk around inside it (car, taxi), it is get in. Then, in the other direction, if you got in, then you get out. If you got on, then you get off. Since Alex mentioned a hot-air balloon, I �ll have to say that that is an exception. Although you can walk around in it, you get in. Bruce |
20 Jun 2011
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pilarmham
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Thank you both, Alex and Bruce, for making this point clearer! (Alex, the cases you mentioned were precisely those that worried me). |
20 Jun 2011
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redcamarocruiser
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I liked the above solutions, especially Bruce pointing out about getting off and out. It made me think of the following example.
An exasperated school bus driver would tell his dawdling students to "GET IN the bus, now! We �re running late."
The student �s mother would say Hurry up, get ON the bus. It �s ready to go.
The bus driver is telling the students not to stay outside of the bus but to get inside it.
The mother is telling her child to get on it now and it is iimplied that later the child will. get off it.
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20 Jun 2011
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yanogator
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As for a rickshaw (Alex, you just love to stir up trouble), it would follow the rule for chairs. If a chair has arms, you sit in it (because it surrounds you in a sense). If it doesn �t (so a stool is one example), you sit on it. Since a rickshaw has sides, you get in it.
Although a sofa has arms, it doesn �t surround you like an armchair does, so you sit on it.
Bruce |
20 Jun 2011
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colita
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Wow, colleagues! Very thoughtful answers! I envy your wisdom! 10X! |
21 Jun 2011
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joy2bill
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What I tell my students is if the vehicle has an aisle you get on, (ie you can walk around in it) but without an aisle you get in.
Just my tuppence worth
Joy |
21 Jun 2011
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