Are we In or On????

[flashdog_1]

I think that the difference in getting in a car and on a bus is that you must climb to board the bus, and hence you are on the bus. Unless you have a super SUV you don't generally have to climb to get in a car. Interesting subject. Where is grammar girl?

[dougnewmanatsea]

I agree with everything Stephen said! For the purposes of this thread, it is definitely in, not on. One does not sail on a ship.

 

I especially agree about people who refer to vessels as things like "the STATENDAM ship" or "the ROTTERDAM ship"... This makes me cringe!

 

For example, "The QUEEN MARY 2 liner hit a sandbar".

 

Or, "The NOORDAM cruise ship arrived in Boston".

 

When I hear things like my face turns purple, steam comes out of the ears, etc. ;) !

 

Now, one could say, "The Cunard liner hit a sandbar", or "The Holland America cruise ship arrived in Boston", but definitely not "The QUEEN MARY 2 liner hit a sandbar" or "The NOORDAM cruise ship arrived in Boston"!

[Randyk47]

As a general I worked for once said: "English is a precise language when used precisely." :D

[grest]

I agree with everything Stephen said! For the purposes of this thread, it is definitely in, not on. One does not sail on a ship.

 

I especially agree about people who refer to vessels as things like "the STATENDAM ship" or "the ROTTERDAM ship"... This makes me cringe!

 

For example, "The QUEEN MARY 2 liner hit a sandbar".

 

Or, "The NOORDAM cruise ship arrived in Boston".

 

When I hear things like my face turns purple, steam comes out of the ears, etc. ;) !

 

Now, one could say, "The Cunard liner hit a sandbar", or "The Holland America cruise ship arrived in Boston", but definitely not "The QUEEN MARY 2 liner hit a sandbar" or "The NOORDAM cruise ship arrived in Boston"!

Poor Doug! With all of the grammatical faux pas, you must spend a lot of time looking like Barney!

[serendipity1499]

SDHALFAN Quote

Serendipity,

The Mississippi Queen is a RiverBOAT, not a cruiseship. The boats that navigate the rivers are all known as boats. They are a great deal smaller than the current cruiseliners. I am really looking forward to my first Riverboat cruise this coming August from Aix en Provence to Chalon sur Saone, and then on to Paris for a couple of days. I have heard nothing but praise for the Riverboats from friends who have previously sailed on them.

As far as submarines go - you are 100% correct. My late husband spent 14 years aboard submarines and then taught anti-submarine warfare ("ours" not "theirs") and he and his shipmates always referred to their Sub as their boat, much to the chagrine of the Surface Force who were so proud of their ships, and rightly so.

I love your user name - have always loved the Serendipity in my life.[/FONT]

Valerie

Thanks Valerie.. Serendipity was the name of our boat or shall I say Sloop..We had a windfall with a piece of property, which we purchased & sold to the County to build a Bridge...We used a portion of the proceeds to purchase our new Boat..OOPS Sloop..;) Our friends suggested we name the boat/sloop "Land Scam" :o but we thought "Serendipity" was much more dignified..LOL..Our life has also been very "Serendipitous"

Re my, mention of the Mississippi Queen...Yes, realize it's a River Boat not a cruise ship..All I was trying to do was clarify your statement which was.. Quote "If you can put a boat on it then it's a ship" Unquote , which I don't believe is entirely correct..As I said in my post, I was taught that ships were ocean going vessels & boats were vessels used primarily in (or is it on) the inland waterways, which include Rivers, Canals, Lakes etc..My explanation could be completely wrong & maybe Stephen would pop in again & also explain the RN definition of Ship & Boat..

I'm getting so confused & worn-out:confused: ...So have decided to go to bed & sleep on it..Or is it sleep in it..Ok I'll sleep on it, in the bed..Is that better?;) ..

[jhannah]

You sleep ON it, IN the bed, UNDER the covers. ;)

[mechcc]

STAND AND SURRENDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

OK, this is one of my pet peeves. :)

 

There is a correct way of course but because the wrong word has been used to many times it gets to feel 'right' if you know what I mean.

 

The best I can offer is the way the word is used in the Royal Navy. After all, they are more likely to be right than anyone else!

 

The correct way is to say that you sailed IN a ship... not ON.

 

As Paul Noble pointed out... God bless all who sail IN her.

 

You can come 'aboard' not 'on board'.

 

You can say, "I met Mr John Doe ON BOARD the XXXX when I was sailing IN that ship."

 

Example... in the RN one would never say, "I served on HMS Excellent." They would say, "I served IN HMS Excellent."

 

But for what we are talking about.... IN is the word.

 

 

Helpful? Probably not!

 

The one that I really hate is when newspapers say, " ..... the ROTTERDAM cruiseship." or "... the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruiseship."

 

It should be "... the cruiseship ROTTERDAM." or "... the liner Queen Elizabeth 2."

 

Stephen

 

Thank you so much for the clairfication! It is amazing how right a wrong can become with general use. From now on I will say "I have cruised in______; I will cruise in________; or I am cruising in_________.

 

Now can anyone help me with my pet peeve of "Me and John" versus the "John and I"?