On the street and in the street
cyberdude
Would like to know when to use "on the street" and "in the street"? Thanks.
David
CyberCypher
> Would like to know when to use "on the street" and "in the
> street"?
It depends on what else goes in the sentence with the preposition
phrase, and it might even depend on which anglophone country you are
speaking or writing in.
Please provide some context instead of asking overly general questions
that have no answers unless clarified with specifics.
--
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.
Michael West
> Hi,
>
> Would like to know when to use "on the street" and "in the street"? Thanks.
That may seem like a simple question, but it isn't.
A well known difference between British English
and American English centers on this issue. Brits
would say usually say "I live in Oxford Street", while
most Americans would prefer "I live on Oxford
Street."
Then there are people who live "on the street' or
"in the street" (I'm not sure of current usage preference),
meaning the homeless.
Then there are other meanings, too, as when we say
"the word on the street is that there will be
trouble" (or whatever).
I don't know whether "man in the street" or
"man on the street" is more common in the US
(been away too long), but it refers to the "average
citizen" who is always being asked for his views
by news reporters on the street corner.
Maybe you could focus your question a bit?
--
Michael West
Melbourne, Australia
Larry G
<snip>
> I don't know if this follows a leftpond/rightpond split, like "in the
team"
> (BrE) vs. "on the team" (AmE) or "in the charts" (BrE) vs. "on the charts"
> (AmE).
Yep, this is one of those pondian differences. To me, as an AmE speaker, I
have this vision of a man encased inside a newly paved street when "in" is
used. <g>
Larry
Areff
> Then there are people who live "on the street' or
> "in the street" (I'm not sure of current usage preference),
> meaning the homeless.
To me, "live on the street" means homeless. To "live in the street"
suggests to me literally living in the motor-vehicle-traversible portion
of a street or the like; it might even suggest living below ground.
> Then there are other meanings, too, as when we say
> "the word on the street is that there will be
> trouble" (or whatever).
And "the Street" means Wall Street in a sort of metaphorical sense, i.e.,
the world of AmE financial markets and such.
> I don't know whether "man in the street" or
> "man on the street" is more common in the US
> (been away too long), but it refers to the "average
> citizen" who is always being asked for his views
> by news reporters on the street corner.
I'd say "man on the street", but both usages seem to be in current use.
--
John Varela
To me, "in the street" means physically present on the road surface (not
counting special idioms like "man in the street").
"What's that in the street, ahead?"
--
John Varela
(Trade "OLD" lamps for "NEW" for email.)
I apologize for munging the address but the spam was too much.
Michael West
> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 12:16:50 UTC, "Larry G" <thela...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> "Mike Mooney" <m.j.m...@bradford.ac.uk> wrote in message ...
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>> I don't know if this follows a leftpond/rightpond split, like "in the team"
>>> (BrE) vs. "on the team" (AmE) or "in the charts" (BrE) vs. "on the charts"
>>> (AmE).
>>
>> Yep, this is one of those pondian differences. To me, as an AmE speaker, I
>> have this vision of a man encased inside a newly paved street when "in" is
>> used. <g>
>
> To me, "in the street" means physically present on the road surface (not
> counting special idioms like "man in the street").
This comes very close to saying that "in the street"
means "on the road". (NTTAWWT.) Except, of course,
that "on the road" doesn't really mean "on the road
surface". It probably did once. Now you'd probably
have to say "on the roadway". Pity the poor foreigner.
cyberdude
> cyberdude wrote on 14 Jun 2004:
>
> > Would like to know when to use "on the street" and "in the
> > street"?
>
> It depends on what else goes in the sentence with the preposition
> phrase, and it might even depend on which anglophone country you are
> speaking or writing in.
>
> Please provide some context instead of asking overly general questions
> that have no answers unless clarified with specifics.
Oh, I just find that when I read the newspaper or passages somewhere
(I forget the sources), I encounter "on the street" and "in the
street". I don't know when to use either one and therefore I asked
about their correctness/usages.
David
CyberCypher
> CyberCypher <cyber...@19-16-25-13-01-03.com> wrote in message
> news:<Xns9508C1CAA...@130.133.1.4>...
>> cyberdude wrote on 14 Jun 2004:
>>
>> > Would like to know when to use "on the street" and "in the
>> > street"?
>>
>> It depends on what else goes in the sentence with the preposition
>> phrase, and it might even depend on which anglophone country you
>> are speaking or writing in.
>>
>> Please provide some context instead of asking overly general
>> questions that have no answers unless clarified with specifics.
>
> Oh, I just find that when I read the newspaper or passages
> somewhere (I forget the sources), I encounter "on the street" and
> "in the street". I don't know when to use either one and
> therefore I asked about their correctness/usages.
As you can see from the variety of responses your post elicited, nobody
else here knows when to use one or the other either. It varies between
dialects as well as between idiolects.
My feeling about "the man in the street" in TV and newspaper interviews
is that this is the proper idiom; it contrasts the unfortunate souls
who usually work for a living and have to commute and walk on city
streets to go shopping or to restaurants with those who spend their
time at home, in offices, or in taxis or chauffered limos.
The man "on the street" is for me someone who lives nowhere and sleeps
in doorways.
But it's always a good idea to include a context when asking a question
about a phrase.