British english word on the street

From where I’m sitting (in Los Angeles), it’s «on the street.»

Best regards!

Well, I think in AE we use both, but «on the street» is more common.

And I suspect they may have subtle differences in meaning depending on context.

Hrmm, I’m American. To me, there’s a significant difference between the two.

«In the street» means literally that you are «in the middle of the street, standing on it, and waiting for a passing car to hit you.», while «on the street» can be used to describe buildings which face the street. i.e. «The factory was on Jackson Street.» or a pedestrian who is walking down the street, but is on the sidewalk, not in the middle of the road.

meagain9969 said:

I have always had this problem. Some say that in the street is for the activities and on the street is for position. is this true? Please give me a hand. Thanks guys.

That sounds ok in theory — but usually people can think of examples to contradict these generalities.

SB is correct. It doesn’t take much effort to think of —

Riding my bicycle on the street…which is an activity.

Where is the manhole cover? It’s in the middle of the street….position.

I somewhat disagree—I think one rides a bicycle in the street, but on the pavement. Which is interesting, because one rides a bicycle on the sidewalk, not in the sidewalk. And, even worse, one drives a car on Main Street. Why do I think a bicycle uses in and a car on? No idea, it’s just the way I’ve always said it!

At any rate, it’s tricky, isn’t it?

The kids used to play games in the street.
They were not allowed to play on the road(pavement), but were told to stay on the footpath(sidewalk).

Cuchu’s cadences, of course, compel me onwards.
On the Road Again.
On Highway 61

I’d also heard/read the comment that one was American and the other British. I don’t remember which was which.

I’ve found some set expressions in my dictionary with «on/in the street.» According to it, you can say:
1)»The man/woman in the street,» but also «the man/woman on the street» (the average person, who represents the general opinion about things)
2) «The streets» also «the street,» «young people living on the streets» (the busy public parts of a city where there is a lot of activity, excitement, and crime, or where people without homes live)
3) «a car parked on the other side of the street»
4) «be (living) on easy street» (to be in a situation in which you have plenty of money)

I wonder if one can say #2 and 4 with «in».

Oros said:

I live in Ireland.

I live in Belgium.

You wouldn’t use the prepostion ‘on’ here, would you?

It’s nugatory. Countries and streets are different pair of shoes.

I’m happy with all

four

five.

I think the choice between in and on (in 3&4) depends on how big the street happens to be.
Oxford Street is huge. If anyone lives there, they live on Oxford Street.
Chadwick Street is short. People who live there live in Chadwick Street.

Previous threads have discussed this strange subject:

On the street or in the street

«in» or «at» the area

It seems to be quite subjective.

I don’t think you should use 10 Downing Street as an example. It is not a spot, it is the Prime Minister’s official residence.

Tony lives in 10 Downing Street rather as the Queen lives in Buckingham Palace.

From the perspective of a UK resident, the name «10 Downing Street» means the building we see on the news every day. It is a three-dimensional concept, not just an address.

Bill Bloggs lives at 47 Adelaide Street.
He does not live on 47 Adelaide Street.

He might say he lives on Adelaide Street, or in Adelaide Street.
I think that his choice of on/in depends on how big Adelaide Street is.

Is this some strange sort of BE thing? I would never say anyone lived IN any street, no matter how short or small it was.

When I think of someone living IN «11th street» (as an example), I imagine tiny sidewalk people who live in the cracks of the sidewalk, or something like that. The only time I can think of using IN + STREET is:

I live in the street

Which would mean something on the lines of beeing homeless. However, I would use ON there as well if I felt like it.

Jon

From a purely AE standpoint, «at» is used for a specific, defined place, «on» is used before a street name with no specific address, and «in» is used whenever there is the sense of «within» or «inside of.» For example:

He lives at 34 Oxford Street.

He lives on Oxford Street.

He lives in Palace Apartments.

Notice that if the person you are talking to already knows of Palace Apartments, then it is already defined and specific enough between the speakers, so that one may say, «He lives at Palace Apartments.» (If the other person does not know of Palace Apartments, he would infer that it is a specific place and probably ask, «What is Palace Apartments?» instead of «Where is Palace Apartments?»)

There are always exceptions and linguistic nuances. One could say, «John lives at that restaurant» to mean «John goes to that restaurant so often that he practically lives there»; but to say «John lives in that restaurant» would imply «John physically inhabits that restaurant.»

When speaking of geographic regions, one always uses «in» since we literally mean «He lives within/inside of London» and not «He lives on top of London» or «He lives at the specific spot of London.»

Hope this helps.

Brian

I stress that I am speaking BE, and perhaps more locally than that.

On is perfect if Adelaide Street is well-known for shopping.
If no one expects to find a shop there, the shop is in Adelaide Street.

Others may suggest different uses of on and in.
I’m sorry, but use of in and on in this context has no objective rule.

maxiogee said:

[…]There used to be a difference in the understanding of what constituted a road/street/place/lane/avenue etc. but no longer. I think this might be what panjandrum is referring to.

You could be right.
If so, it is entirely sub-conscious for me.

Kelly B said:

Yes, and he lives in the White House. I think Panjandrum meant that the phrase 10 Downing Street is equivalent to the White House, rather than to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

That’s exactly what he meant.

Honestly, you’d think the idiot would manage to say what he meant first time instead of needing to be interpreted.
I’ll have a word with him and tell him to try harder in future.

1)on the street
2)in the street

Is it because of the usege difference between British and American that these two types are equally frequently used?

Yes, I think so. Our visitors from the US will say «Is the monastery on Albeq Street?» and the British ones will say, «Is the monastery in Albeq street?»

I wonder if «in the street» can mean «in the middle of the street, in the traffic lanes» in both AE and BE?

The preposition depends on the meaning of the sentence.

The word on the street is that Tom is dealing drugs.
The graffiti painted on the street . . . .
The car was parked on the side of the street.

Jane was standing in the street crying and calling for her lost dog.
The water in the street was waist deep.

What is the sentence you need help with?

The preposition depends on the meaning of the sentence.

The word on the street is that Tom is dealing drugs.
The graffiti painted on the street . . . .
The car was parked on the side of the street.

Jane was standing in the street crying and calling for her lost dog.
The water in the street was waist deep.

What is the sentence you need help with?

But there is an AE BE difference I think.

For me —

the word on the street is… but
The graffiti painted in the street (eg on the walls along the street, on would mean literally painted on the road surface — unless that’s what you meant?)
The car was parked in the street.

So, it seems we only use «on» for the the «word on the street» (although I may not have thought of an example of «on» of course).

But there is an AE BE difference I think.

The graffiti painted in the street (eg on the walls along the street, on would mean literally painted on the road surface — unless that’s what you meant?)

Yes, I meant on the road surface.

Yes, I meant on the road surface.

Oh, we’d probably call that «street art» here!

To my way of thinking a person who is on the street is basically living on the street.
To be in the street is to visit the street for a short period.

.,,

I would agree with this. I worked with a project called on the street and into work which was about getting homeless people off the streets, into work and then into housing.