Questions e-mailed by DikPascual (August 1, 2011):Hi,
When do we use “in the street” and “on the street”?
My editor told me years ago that we use “on the street” when we are referring to a specific street, as in “He was found dead
on Recto Street.” He said we use “in the street” when it could be just any street, as in “There’s just too much litter
in the streets of Manila.”
With this guide, I find logical “Knowing you’re
on the street where we live,” because it speaks (sings) of the specific street “where we live.” It is “The Santoses live
on Maria Clara Street.” And I frown on the widespread use of “a man
on the street” interview, because the interview is just anywhere, everywhere, without pinning it to a specific street. I prefer “man
in the street” interview.
What do you think?
Thanks,
Dik Pascual
My reply to Dik Pascual:Your editor was right in his prescription that the preposition “on” should be used when referring to a specific street, as in the example you gave, “He was found dead
on Recto Street.” Based on American usage that I had gathered way back and confirmed to be standard, “on” should also be used for the names of roads, avenues, and boulevards: “Her apartment is
on Ortigas Avenue, [
on Santolan Road,
on Roxas Boulevard].” In all these cases, of course, “on” is being used as a preposition for indicating a specific location by name.
I think your editor was also conceptually right when he prescribed the preposition “in” for referring to just any street (or “street” in the generic sense), as in the other example you gave, “There’s just too much litter
in the streets of Manila.” Here, “in” is used as a preposition for indicating location, as in these other examples: “The children are
in the kitchen [
in the garden,
in the car,
in the library,
in the class (or
in class),
in school (or
in the school].”
From an American English standpoint, I also agree with you that “on” and not “in” is the correct preposition to use in the statements “Knowing you’re
on the street where we live”* and “The Santoses live
on Maria Clara Street.” “However, ‘on” is used in both cases not because a specific street “where we live” is being referred to but because the noun “street” here is used in the sense of “a thoroughfare with abutting property,” and this “abutting property” is in a very real sense a “surface.” In American English, the preposition “on” is prescribed for indicating a surface where something happens to be, as in “There are nasty scratches
on the floor.”
We must keep in mind, though, that the usage of “on” or “in” varies from one linguistic area to another, and is actually more conventional and idiomatic than logical. In British English, in particular, the preposition “in” is often used in grammatical situations where American English would prescribe “on,” and that goes for some other prepositions as well. This difference in usage is accurately captured by this playful comparison: “Londoners live
in a street and stay
in farm cottages
at weekends, but New Yorkers and English-speaking Manilans live
on a street and stay
in farm cottages
on weekends.”
This is also the reason why unlike you, Dik, I really wouldn’t frown on people who use the noun phrase “a man on the street” instead of “a man in the street.” The usage would depend on the country or linguistic region where the speaker or writer lives. In fact, in recognition of the perfect equivalence of those two phrases, my
Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary considers “man on the street” and “man in the street” equally acceptable usage for referring to “an average or ordinary person.”
I must add here that time and again, I have emphasized in my English-usage columns in
The Manila Times and in my English-usage books that most preposition usage is essentially conventional, even quirkish, and that many preposition choices actually have no inherent or discernible logic of their own. It’s for this reason that I suggest to learners of English—at least the American English variety—to just memorize the prepositions according to the prescribed usage.
Those interested to do so can start right now by studying the four lessons on preposition usage, prepositional phrases, and prepositional idioms that I posted here in the Forum in June of 2009, as follows:
Lesson #7 – The Prepositions RevisitedLesson #8 – Specific Rules for Preposition UsageLesson #9 – Getting to Know the Prepositional PhrasesLesson #10 – Dealing with the Prepositional Idioms----------------
*The exact phrasing of this line as sung in Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Broadway musical My Fair Lady is “Knowing I’m on the street where you live.” I love that song so much—and the 1964 film adaptation of that musical as well—that I am yielding to the temptation of quoting its entire lyrics here (underscoring mine):On the Street Where You Live
I have often walked down this street before;
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before.
All at once am I
Several stories high,
Knowing I’m on the street where you live.
Are there lilac trees in the heart of town?
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?
Does enchantment pour
Out of ev’ry door?
No, it's just on the street where you live!
And oh! The towering feeling
Just to know somehow you are near!
The overpowering feeling
That any second you may suddenly appear!
People stop and stare. They don’t bother me.
For there’s nowhere else on earth that I would rather be.
Let the time go by,
I won’t care if I
Can be here on the street where you live.
