Junior Class 1 Answered

The words ‘in’, ‘on’ and ‘over’ are prepositions. Prepositions are used in sentences to give information in relation to space and time.

‘In’ and ‘on’ are prepositions of place.  They indicate the location of the subject. However, there is a slight variation in their meanings.

In the sentence ‘Rajeev is sleeping in his bed.’ the preposition ‘in’ indicates that Rajeev is below the sheets on the bed. As the sheets are considered a part ‘the bed’ we use the preposition ‘in’ and not ‘on’.

If Rajeev was sitting we would say ‘Rajeev is sitting on the bed’ and not ‘in the bed’ as the surface of the bed (including the sheets) would be below him.

More Examples:

The boy is playing in his room.

The concert will take place in London.

In the second sentence, ‘The dog is sleeping on the sofa.’ the dog is above the surface of the sofa, therefore we use the preposition ‘on’.

More Examples:

The bird was perched on the fence.

The books were on the table.

The preposition ‘over’ is used to indicate direction or movement.

Examples:

The birds flew over the river.

The boys jumped over the fence.