Insignificant, 'why?', questions to very random things.

[TinFoilHat]

"in the back of a transit van" suggests not :)
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I come in a tranny used to be such an innocent phrase.

 

[calumdown]

Awaits the inevitable photo of a dwarf standing in a Skoda Roomster…

;-)

is she in the car or on the car?

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

is she in the car or on the car?

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Both.

 

[BimboBob]

why do we say...
"in" a car?

everything else is "on"...
on a bus
on a train
on a boat
on a tram
on a plane
et catera

in point of fact,
grammatically, shouldn't they all be "in"?

A car has always been a sit down form of transport. The others can, and have, been used in part as standing vehicles.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

My 4 year old has just moved into the "why" phase.

I tell you what, that makes you think about the world. She's had me flapping like mad at time.

"Dad, why is the sky blue?"
"Why do we have cars?"
"Why do we walk?"
"Why do you have a name?"
"Why does the moon shine?"
"Why are you called Daddy?"

Sometimes you have to fall back on the old "We just do, darling".

“Daddy, why do you call a small child ‘Darling’?”

 

[Didsbury Dave]

“Daddy, why do you call a small child ‘Darling’?”

It’s what we do over here, rather than calling our kids by our own name and making them call us “Sir”.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

why do we say...
"in" a car?

everything else is "on"...
on a bus
on a train
on a boat
on a tram
on a plane
et catera

in point of fact,
grammatically, shouldn't they all be "in"?

Grammatically, they’re all the same. Logistically, they may be different, but grammatically, they’re all correct.

“I am on a bus” is grammatically correct, as is “I am in a car.” However, your mind’s eye might not envisage that first sentence as intended, based on where you actually are logistically, even though it is common parlance.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

It’s what we do over here, rather than calling our kids by our own name and making them call us “Sir”.

Respect. Never goes out of style, honeybuns.

;-)

 

[calumdown]

A car has always been a sit down form of transport. The others can, and have, been used in part as standing vehicles.

you can stand up in the back of a large mobilehome as much as you like, though, whether it's moving or not.

 

[calumdown]

Grammatically, they’re all the same. Logistically, they may be different, but grammatically, they’re all correct.

“I am on a bus” is grammatically correct, as is “I am in a car.” However, your mind’s eye might not envisage that first sentence as intended, based on where you actually are logistically, even though it is common parlance.

exactly.
the reason i asked was i was patiently waiting for my italian friend.
she sent me a text saying "i'm on a taxi, be with you in 5minutes"
it made me wonder.