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Girl in a Mercedes

A girl is driving a Mercedes. Or maybe she is just sitting on a driver's seat. She owns this car, or maybe the car is her mother's and she is just flossing.

  1. If I refer to her as "a girl in a Mercedes", then there will be no meaning of driving and/or possession. Maybe she is just sitting on the passenger's seat.
  2. If I refer to her as "a girl with a Mercedes", then there will be no meaning of being inside of the car. Maybe she is just staying near the car.

When referring to this girl, in Russian we usually say "девушка на Мерседесе" (girl on a Mercedes). Saying that we don't mean "a girl on top of a Mercedes". We mean "a girl who is driving a Mercedes", or "a girl who is sitting on a driver's seat or looking out the driver's window". It also has some connotations of possession and demonstration (of the car).

But what's with American English? What preposition would be more appropriate for this exact situation? Is there any equivalent for the Russian "девушка на Мерседесе"?

I need to refer to her in a sentence like:

There were a lot of racers. A girl (in/on/at) a Mercedes SLK250. A guy (in/on/at) a Honda S2000...

Which preposition do American English speakers use — in, at, on?

In Russian, I can also say "девушка в Мерседесе" (girl in a Mercedes). All these Russian sentences are correct and all these sentences mean that the girl is inside the Mercedes. I wonder if it's the same in American English.

Mari-Lou A
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ezpresso
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  • Why are downvotes? Please explain. Why don't just answer the question? – ezpresso Oct 22 '17 at 12:13
  • Hello, ezpresso. If you read the advice given at the Help Center on what constitutes a suitable question on ELU, you would, I hope, realise that this doesn't meet them. There are many websites aimed at helping people with basic English questions (ELL is one, but also requires research), but ELU is aimed at linguists. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 22 '17 at 12:31
  • @EdwinAshworth, I wrote in the Update to the question, that some languages, like Russian, do allow alternative usage of prepositions for this kind of sentences. – ezpresso Oct 22 '17 at 12:40
  • Looks like a bitchin' car... ;-) – Jim Oct 22 '17 at 20:42
  • @Jim, oh, now I see why she is attracting a bunch of downvoters. – ezpresso Oct 22 '17 at 20:48
  • I have rewritten the question to make it more clear. I tried to explain the exact meaning I am looking for. – ezpresso Oct 23 '17 at 15:02
  • I think the question is much better now, at least it's clearer why you are asking. So, just to be double sure, if someone says in Russia that "a person is on a car" that suggests they are driving it? – Mari-Lou A Oct 23 '17 at 16:04
  • And because this is not a duplicate of the older question, I'm casting my vote to reopen this question. I think it is better suited to SE ELL, (English language for Learners) but first, it needs to be reopened. – Mari-Lou A Oct 23 '17 at 16:07
  • @Mari-LouA, yes, if I say in Russian that "a person is on a car", that will suggest he/she is driving it or posing in the driver's seat. If I say "a person is in a car" that will suggest he/she is inside the car, just like in English. – ezpresso Oct 23 '17 at 16:22
  • Well, I didn't know that. In English, you'd have to say "The girl who is driving the Mercedes" whereas "The girl in the Mercedes" is ambiguous, she could be a passenger. – Mari-Lou A Oct 23 '17 at 16:31
  • Since you give the context of them being racers, there's nothing ambiguous about: There were a lot of racers- a girl with a Mercedes, a guy with a Honda S2000. – Jim Oct 25 '17 at 04:54

1 Answers1

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I'm from the UK, not the US, but the rule in English would be "in" a car, but "on" a motorcycle.

You could have the girl "on" the car, but this implies being on the outside eg. lying/sitting on the bonnet or hood.

Laurel
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    Hello, Jim. I'm sure @Reg Dwight won't mind my pinching a quote of his here: '[W]e write stuff in comments that is too obvious to qualify for an answer. [This] is not really a topic for a site for linguists and etymologists, and we don't want it to become a topic.' – Answering such questions sends out the wrong message to the user base. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 22 '17 at 12:28
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    OK, thanks Edwin. Seems unnecessarily restrictive, if someone needs help. However, thanks for explaining that. –  Oct 22 '17 at 12:59
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    'Unnecessarily restrictive, if someone needs help.' No; ELU has certain requirements. There are plenty of other websites where people can readily get help with basic questions. It's the people who demand that all websites have to conform to the same pattern that are unnecessarily restrictive. As a comparison, should university language departments be expected to offer basic spelling courses? – Edwin Ashworth Oct 22 '17 at 14:22
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    "at the wheel of a Mercedes" is another possibility. Doesn't look to me like she's actually driving. – Xanne Oct 22 '17 at 19:14
  • @EdwinAshworth, 'too obvious to qualify for an answer'. There are many things in English that seem 'too obvious', but in fact these are not. For instance, the sentence like “My love don't cost a thing” is obviously incorrect. Or it is correct?! That's the name of the song by Jennifer Lopez. Many Russians say "с Москвы" (instead of "из Москвы"). It is grammatically incorrect, but many people use it. There are slangs, dialects and different accents... How can I be sure it is obvious, when it sure can be not?! – ezpresso Oct 22 '17 at 20:27
  • @ ezpresso If I had a question regarding very basic Russian, I wouldn't post it on a website dealing with the Russian language but aimed at linguists and proficient speakers. I'd consider it impertinent to complain if I misjudged the standards expected and was informed of this. I'd look for a website aimed at helping people get to grips with basic Russian. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 22 '17 at 22:31
  • @EdwinAshworth, every question, even "very basic" one, does worth an answer from people with domain expertise in the respective area. That's what the knowledge is all about. Here in Russia we have gramota.ru website, where experienced linguists are happy to answer any questions about any aspect of Russian language. Anyway I have rewritten the question. – ezpresso Oct 23 '17 at 15:43
  • @ezpresso, thanks to the context around your sentence, it is already established that you are talking about someone who is driving (that's what a "racer" does). So saying "a girl in a Mercedes" is not confusing; it means a girl who is driving a Mercedes as part of the race. – Hellion Oct 23 '17 at 16:44