Sitting in / on that chair

For chairs, I’d usually use “in”. For couches, I’d usually use “on”. For chairs, “on” can also be used sometimes.

You sit on a stool, but in a chair. Chairs have a back and/or arm rests, making it a partial enclosure. This is why “in” makes sense.

I don't think I'd ever say "sit on a chair." I would say "in."

Both work - the difference is subtle. If you use "sitting on" a chair, it is usually a hard or lightly padded armless chair (like a dining chair). If you use "sitting in" a chair, it is usually a chair that is padded and has enclosing armrests (like a recliner). It's not a hard rule, both get used reasonably interchangeably. Other things used for sitting are somewhat more fixed: Sit on stools Sit on couches Sit on benches Sit in seats on transport (planes, cars, etc.) Sit on things that aren't primarily for sitting (a low wall, a bed, the floor, etc.) Sit in specifically assigned seats Edit: Typo

"Sit on a chair" sounds like I'm sitting on the armrests, or on the top rail

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the mental image of setting inside a grandfather clock lol. Sry OP kno ur here to learn but smtimes the wrong options r great

I think in is usually better, but on doesn't always sound weird. "She was sitting on a chair outside the café" sounds fine to me. But if it's a big chair like a lazy boy, anything with armrests (so it kinda of surrounds you), definitely in. On the other hand, it's always "on the couch."

You sit in a chair that has arm rests, but on a chair without one. Like you sit in an armchair, but sit on a chair at school

You can replace the preposition with "atop" to sound fancy. For anyone who doesn't know, "on top of" is what "atop" means.

I’m curious to know if there’s a difference between British English and American English with this. I’m a native BE speaker and would say ‘sit on’. Edit: I get how saying ‘sit in’ would make sense in reference to an arm chair or recliner. I still think I’d say ‘sit on’, though. Strange!

In my opinion, "on" if the chair looks like a surface, like a stool, and "in" if the chair is more like a bucket, like a recliner or dining chair.

Rule of thumb: If you are mostly enclosed in it, you are in it. So sit in a chair, sit in a car, sit in a room If you are mostly not enclosed, you are on it Sit on a stool, sit on a bike, sit on a bench at the park Chairs can by tricky. You may sit on a deck-chair by the pool, but you definitely sit in a La-Z-Boy recliner chair. An example of this all being a fugazi: Usage is largely mixed as it pertains to busses and trains. Are you sitting in or on the bus/train? Depends who you ask... So its not an exact science at all.

You sit IN an item of furniture if it has arms. I don't know about a back. Basically the logic here is such. You sit on a chair's surface, but its back is behind you, and its arms are on both sides of you, so you sort of sit inside it.

Kinda depends on the seat, but my theory is that anything with armrests you would sit IN, and anything without armrests is something you sit ON The man sits ON a park bench The grandpa sits IN a recliner The lady sits ON a bar stool The baby sits IN a car seat

You sit "in" the chair You lay "in" the bed You sit "On" a stool You lay "on" a couch. I'm not sure how to explain the logic, that's just how it is.

I'd say you sit on a a chair

Is this an app or a website?

It’s *in* a chair because you are between the back and the bottom so your body shares some of the space. You are “in” partially. Chairs can be “hollow” bottomed or be completely covered. The couch is less of an “in” situation and you don’t take up all the space, so you sit ON the couch, with other people. The couch is always solid on the bottom. You can’t be “in” the couch unless you are under the cushions. Not sure why it’s like this exactly, it just is and I’m trying my best to make up a reason. 🤷‍♀️

In are for seats that are perceived as enclosing, and on are for seats that are perceived as non-enclosing.

To what degree are you surrounded? If it's a bar stool you're sitting on it. If it's a recliner with big arm rests that feels like being inside something, sitting in a chair. Similarly, you might lie down on a bed but when there's blankets on top now you're in bed. 

The chairs look completely different when I hear in or on. “In” implies a big comfortable chair he enjoys sitting in. “On” is literally just a seat, maybe he’s unwilling, maybe it’s while he is doing something. If you said he always sits on that chair I would wonder “why?”

Think of the level of comfort. In for comfortable chairs, on for uncomfortable/office chairs. Because you sink into comfort :) yet you sit on a chair to do work!

It depends what kind of chair it is. On for normal chairs, in for armchairs.

to me, sitting *on* a chair means you sit on the headrest or armrest. sitting in a chair is means you sit on the part that's meant for sitting

You sit "in" a seat that has arms, because it's kind of like a bucket. You sit "on" a seat that doesn't, such as a stool.

No real logic. Mostly I sit, stand, and lie on things, but there are exceptions. I sit on stools, benches, sofas, ottomans, tables, and the floor. I sit in chairs and car seats. I also sit in pews, even though pew are long bench with arms at the end But sometimes I sit on chairs too, especially dining chairs. I'm always in bathtubs and showers and never on them. I lie in bed, but on the couch. I lie on tables, benches, and the floor. I stand in the grass, but I can sit either in it or on it it.

Sitting "in" a chair kinda implies a big armchair or sofa

Depends on the type of chair. I would sit on a dining chair but I would sit in an armchair.

Sé que tienes miedo

Im sitting in a clock right now.

I say it depends on the type of chair. If it does not have arms, like a kitchen chair, you sit on it. If it has arms, like a cushioned living room chair, you sit in it. This also make it weird with a couch or sofa, since we generally say on, not in, but I think that is because no matter where you sit, there are no arms, or only one arm, next to you, so you are sitting on it. Meaning if there is an arm next to you on both sides, it is "in", but one or no arms and it is "on". Yes, English can be very confusing.

Definitely "in"! It depends on your mother tongue. In Arabic, we use "on" but in English you'd use "in". A good collocations dictionary can assist with choosing the right preposition. With time you'd develop a good sense of using the prepositions.

When in doubt, physical sitting in “on.” If you told me “sit in a chair,” it gives me a deception the chair is quite deep or big enough that the person sitting is encompassed by it.

If it's an armchair I'd use *in* because the chair is inset; if its like a dining chair then it's *on*. Basically it's with vs without arms.

Sitting in a chair works generally, though for me at least it brings to mind like a big comfy armchair. It does work for all other kinds of chairs as well though. You could say you're sitting on a chair and it doesn't sound wrong, exactly, but the feeling is slightly different in a way that I don't think is in any of our grammar books. It seems more like it is temporary or suggests like a dining room chair that's harder and more with a purpose.

I've had good natured but absolutely brutal fights about this with some of my fellow nerds. \*\*What I'm about to say is my opinion, and not settled English rules.\*\* If you are sitting in something, it is something that folds around you in one way or another. A chair that has arms or a back is something you sit "in". Meanwhile a stool or a char with no arms or back, or a bench is something you sit "on".

This entire discussion is why I love language so much. So many little rulesets that native speakers just know and don’t even think about.

Depends on the chair: you would sit on a dining room chair or a sofa, you would sit in an armchair.

You sit on a stool or a hard chair or a couch, but you sit in an armchair.

It is tricky! We say sit in the chair OR on the chair. Some chairs are bowl-like and some are firm like a bench. “In” for bowl like and “on” for bench like. We say always say sit in the car / sit in the car seat. (They’re more like a bucket or bowl shape.) Sit ON the car would be sitting on the outside of the cars But sit on a bench, sit on a sofa, sit on a picnic blanket or on the ground, on the curb.

Both work

All we know for sure is he's sitting on his butt

I suppose it's *in* a chair, but I'm a native speaker and I would say I sit on chairs. I just asked my roommate, and he does the same thing. This may be because we are both from Long Island, and say things like "living on Long Island" or "waiting on line." So it's *in* everywhere not named Long Island

As a native speaker this one made me stop and think. “Sit in that chair” is perfectly grammatical, and I’d typically say that. I don’t have an explanation for *why*, but I would say: Sit on a stool. Sit on a sofa. Sit on a bench. Sit on a rock. Sit on a pin. Sit **in** a chair. Sit seems to be the only one I would use “in” with. The rest all sound wrong. Also, while I *can* say “sit on a chair,” I would almost always say “sit in a chair.”

Both "sitting in" and "sitting on" are correct for chairs. I think this is because while technically you are physically above/on top of the seat, many chairs (like a baby's car seat, or a pilot's seat, or an f1 driver's seat) support/surround the person sitting in them, and thus are viewed as a sort of container that you sit "in." Another way to think of it is that a chair is a specific "zone" that you are in when you sit down.

"on" makes it sound like the chair is bigger, like a sofachair.

Native speaker from the southern US here. I can't think of a single situation where I would say sitting "on" a chair rather than sitting "in" a chair. Even if someone were sitting on a particular part of it, I'd clarify it as "sitting on the arm of the chair" or "sitting on the back of the chair." I agree that it doesn't make sense logically, but it's still the only way of saying it that sounds natural to me.