# EN: on / in the picture - preposition



## guerlain

Hi!
At school, I was told to say "In the picture, you can see.." and not "On the picture", but it seems that both are widely used on the Net. What do you think?
Thanks in advance!

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads merged to create this one.


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## catherineosb

I too learnt to say _In the picture_.  It is probably better, except on the _Net_!     catherineosb


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## david314

Bienvenue sur le forum guerlain! Vous avez raison. […]


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## geostan

Definitely _in the picture, in the photo_, whereas in French one says _sur la photo.

Cheers!
_


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## alatien34

Hello, 

I'm wondering if it's better to use "In" or "On" in the following sentence.  If there's anything as a best option here, may you help me understand the difference?

Here's my sentence:

"Try and physicaly locate the main elements *on/in* the picture."

Thanks in advance!


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## Avignonais

physically, BTW.
"On" is not correct. You can use "in" or "of". As another example we would say, "who are the people *in* the picture". "WHat are these shapes *in* the picture?". But "Why are there smudges *on* the picture?"


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## alatien34

I see...  I must use "on" if I'm talking about something on the piece of paper where the photo is printed .

"In" is used if I 'm talking about the content of the photo...

Well, thanks a lot!!!


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## jamesjiao

[...] 

To answer your question, it's 'in' not 'on'.


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## ascoltate

Well, yes, so to come back to the point, in French, you can say "dans la photo" and "sur la photo" with the meaning "in the picture".
But that being said, I don't know if there's a difference between the two in French. Is there??


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## alatien34

"Sur la photo" is what we would use in French to say "in the picture" or "on the picture", indiferently

"Dans la photo" is correct in French but less natural (at least to my ears)


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## UneHeureuxPommeDeTerre

Alatien,

It sounds like things are reversed in the two languages. For example, "dans la photo" would mean literally "inside of the photo", which indeed sounds weird. However, "sur la photo", which is correct in French, is literally "on the photo" in English. If you were to say this, it would sound very strange, but people would understand the meaning anyway.

I guess if you were going to need to say this in English, just say think about which of the two words you would use in French, then use the _other _one in English


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## geostan

I would certainly say:

in the photo (in English), but
sur la photo (in French).

There is possibly a context to justify dans la photo, but it would never be my first choice.

Cheers!


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## ocid

when you describe a picture, do you say :"*on*" or "*in* this picture"? TKS


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## Léa123

on this picture


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## papamac

No, it is definitely "in this picture".  If you use "on this picture", it would be something else sitting on top of the picture!


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## wildan1

_*in *this picture_ describes the contents--_Jack and Mary are in this picture_

_*on* this picture_ describes the concrete, physical aspect--_there is a dead insect stuck on this picture_


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## garance77

Hi, I'm quite sure that we can use 'in the picture/ photograph' when we want to describe what is happening in / on ? it.  But I've found 'on ' several times. 
So which preposition is right? Please correct my mistakes. Thanks.


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## Keith Bradford

Unless it's a very large photograph, I'd generally use 'in', I think.


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## Ellea1

Hello,

in the picture

for example "I can't see you in the picture"

but "click on the picture of your choice"


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## Maître Capello

I guess you use _in_ when talking about the *content* of the picture and _on_ when referring to the picture itself (e.g., the icon of the picture or the paper it is printed _on_).


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## garance77

Ok I understand. in the picture is correct when we describe the actions, the people. 
Nevertheless, I've often seen 'on ' the picture in English school books with the same meaning. For ex: Who can you see on picture 1? SO ??!!!!!
Thanks anyway.


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## jann

garance77 said:


> I've often seen 'on ' the picture in English school books with the same meaning. For ex: Who can you see on picture 1?


For me, this usage is unnatural.  We wouldn't say that in American English.  It sounds like some of the British English speakers who have already participated in this thread prefer "in" as well.  Perhaps "on" used to be more common in BE, but has decreased in frequency in favor of "in"?  Perhaps it's just a typo when you see it written?  After all, I and O are right next to each other on the keyboard, and since both words exist, the error would not be immediately obvious, nor would it be caught by a spell-checker.

Here's my advice: use "in the photo" when you're talking about the people/object/etc. who appear there.  And when you see "on the photo," you know what it means.


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