# the funniest programme on TV (Using “on” with superlatives)



## rino delbello

Hi All

I have read in a grammar textbook that when referring to contexts, the preposition to be used is only '' *on* '', neither '' in '' nor '' of ''. Do you agree on that?

Here is the use in context :

Friends is the funniest programme *on* TV.

If you agree on it, could you provide another example with '' on '' ?


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## entangledbank

That seems to be nothing to do with superlatives. A TV programme is on TV.

Name three funny programmes on TV.
If there's a funnier programme on TV, I've yet to see it.
That's the funniest of all the programmes on TV.


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## Edinburgher

rino delbello said:


> Do you agree on that?


No, and I don't even agree with it. The choice of preposition is typically determined by what the object is.  With "TV", it's always "on".

Here's a superlative example that does not use 'on':
Q: _What is the shortest word in the English language?_
A:  _"A"._


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## rino delbello

OK. Thanks a lot all of you but I need another example with '' on '' to understand everything better


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## Florentia52

It’s up to you to provide the example sentences, rino delbello. Why don’t you try thinking of a prepositional phrase using “in” or “of,” and building a sentence with a superlative around it? That will help us understand what is confusing you.


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## rino delbello

OK. Sorry Florentia52. I'm getting confused only with '' on ''. Here is an example : Covid-19 is the most difficult disease to beat on medicine.


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## Edinburgher

No, "on" does not collocate with "medicine" in this context.  I'm not even sure what your sentence is supposed to mean.

Chateaubriand is the most expensive item on the menu.


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## rino delbello

Thanks Edinburgher but any other example is coming up to my mind.

1) Lawnmowers are the most useful tools to use on gardening.
2) Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most important characters on Italian history.


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## Roxxxannne

"Lawnmowers are the most useful tools to use on gardening" also doesn't collocate (and it seems factually odd also); "in gardening" is better.

I like to listen to baseball games on the radio.
Did you remember to write 'beer' on the shopping list?


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## rino delbello

Thanks Roxxxannne. I'm interested in superlatives' usage only. Here is another : fraud is one of the most frequent crimes on insurance. Is '' on Italian history '' correct or not?


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## Florentia52

It seems that your difficulty is more with the correct use of prepositions then with superlatives. We say “in history,“ not “on history.”


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## Edinburgher

rino delbello said:


> 1) Lawnmowers are the most useful tools to use on gardening.
> 2) Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most important characters on Italian history.


These both get   , but you can have books on Italian history and gardening.  In this case 'on' is equivalent to 'about'.

"Crimes on insurance" doesn't work either.

The Bible is the dustiest book *on* my shelf, because I never read in it.


rino delbello said:


> I'm interested in superlatives' usage only


Forget superlatives.  If the preposition works with a superlative, it will also work without one, and vice versa.
The collocation depends on what the following word is, but sometimes also on what the previous word is.


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## rino delbello

Rolling pins are one of the most commonly used tools on cooking.


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## Edinburgher

No.  *In* cooking.


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## rino delbello

OK. It seems that '' on '' works only with the general rule of prepositions of place when something is '' on '' something else as in '' on the menu '' and '' on TV ''. I see that it is not so used as I thought with superlatives. Another : the Bigfoot is one of the most well-known characters on folklore.


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## Keith Bradford

rino delbello said:


> Bigfoot is one of the most well-known characters on folklore.


*In* folklore.

If you want a broad guide:
*On* collocates with all kinds of lists, days of the week, physical objects which have a top...​*In* collocates with places, periods of history, groups, activities, physical objects which have an interior...​*Of *does not usually collocate with superlatives.​


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## Roxxxannne

Rolling pins are one of the most commonly used tools on cooking. 
Rolling pins are more commonly used than banana slicers on cooking.
Rolling pins are used commonly on cooking.


The superlative, comparative, and positive degrees have nothing to do with the use of the preposition 'on.'

This pen is the best kind for calligraphy.
The squirrel is the most common of all animals in American parks.
Bacon tastes best with fried eggs.

cross-posted


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## rino delbello

OK. Thanks a lot all of you for clearing this doubt of mine.


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## rino delbello

The last curiosity, so the sentence '' This is the nicest part in the film '' is correct, isn't it?


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## Florentia52

We would probably say “This is the nicest part of the film.” But you could say “He had the most demanding role in the film.”


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## Andygc

Keith Bradford said:


> *Of *does not usually collocate with superlatives


They are the best of friends.
That was the longest of the long walks I have walked.
That was the tallest of all the buildings in London.
Etc, etc, etc.


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## Keith Bradford

Yes, Andy, we both know that, which is why I added "usually", but I didn't want to write out all the irregular exceptions.

What I wanted to do was warn Rino Delbello off "That was the tallest building *of *London...  Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most important characters *of *Italy... Etc, etc, etc." I've lost count of the number of times I've seen French and Italian students using *of *after the superlative in that way. It's the immediate go-to construction for natives of those languages.


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## rino delbello

OK. thanks a lot all of you again


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Keith Bradford said:


> *In* folklore.
> 
> If you want a broad guide:
> *Of *does not usually collocate with superlatives.​



"usually", as you say, Keith, but:
Examples of use of "of" with superlatives:
"He's the best of a bad lot."
"I think Champagne is the finest of all wines."


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## Edinburgher

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, ...


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Edinburgher said:


> Mirror, mirror, on the wall, ...



[Who's the fairest of them all?]  (Must've missed those earlier ones somehow.)


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## Keith Bradford

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> "usually", as you say, Keith, but:
> Examples of use of "of" with superlatives:
> "He's the best of a bad lot."
> "I think Champagne is the finest of all wines."


Yes but these aren't parallel to the constructions that Rino was asking about, which were (see #1) the <comparative adjective> <noun> <*preposition*> <location>.  Try "I think Champagne is the finest wine of France."


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## Steven David

rino delbello said:


> OK. Thanks a lot all of you but I need another example with '' on '' to understand everything better



There's not a lot of good programming on the radio these days.

The reason we use on in "on the radio" and "on television" is that the broadcast is supported by the radio and the television.

In this way, also, something that is supported by another thing is often temporary. Here's what I mean.

On lunch break
On vacation
On sabbatical
On leave
On the weekend
On Tuesday
On strike

The support, in these examples, is abstract.

The radio is on the table.

A surface, such as a table, supports a radio. Also, we take note that the radio touches the table.

So, again, when we say there's not a lot of good programming on the radio these days, we mean that the radio does not support a lot of good programming.

Hey! They're playing that song on the radio I like.

The song is on the radio, and so the radio supports the song (abstract world) just as the table supports the radio (physical world). The radio is on the table, and a song is on the radio.


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## rino delbello

Thanks a lot again


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## DEHER

They live *on *the farm
He's been travelling *on *the train for hours.


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## Andygc

Keith Bradford said:


> Try "I think Champagne is the finest wine of France."


Well, I think you are wrong there, twice. The sentence is perfectly OK, and champagne is over-priced pop.


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## Keith Bradford

Ngrams and I disagree with you.  No instances at all of the phrase "finest wine of France" found in the last 220 years.  Not proof (you can't prove a thing doesn't exist) but rather compelling evidence, perhaps.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

to Steven:

"Hey! They're playing that song on the radio I like."

As opposed to its being played on the radio you don't like, I suppose?


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

WordReference provides the most reliable language advice of any site on the Internet.


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## Edinburgher

Keith Bradford said:


> No instances at all of the phrase "finest wine of France" found in the last 220 years.


Perhaps that's because no-one can agree on a single finest wine there. 
It does find "finest wines of France", only very recently overtaken by "finest wines in France".


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Edinburgher said:


> Perhaps that's because no-one can agree on a single finest wine there.
> It does find "finest wines of France", only very recently overtaken by "finest wines in France".



Strange, that; not all the wines in France are French, and French wines can be found outside France


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## rino delbello

Hi All again, Keith Bradford as you said that '' In '' collocates with physical objects which have an interior, is the sentence '' this picture is the most beautiful in the book '' correct ?


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## rino delbello

At any rate, it's very strange that sentences like '' Nile is the best player in the team '' and '' the golden neckless is the most precious jewel of the collection '' collocate with different prepositions as they are meant as a group, since Keith Bradford said that only '' In '' collocates with groups. I'm getting really confused.


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## Keith Bradford

All those three are fine.


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## rino delbello

OK. Thanks Keith but why do the last two collocate with different prepositions although only the grammar rule with '' In '' collocates with groups?


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## Steven David

rino delbello said:


> At any rate, it's very strange that sentences like '' Nile is the best player in the team '' and '' the golden neckless is the most precious jewel of the collection '' collocate with different prepositions as they are meant as a group, since Keith Bradford said that only '' In '' collocates with groups. I'm getting really confused.



I would say "on the team".

Maybe, that's a difference between British English and American English.

He's the best player on the team.

There's no way to be a player unless there's a team. And, in this way, the team supports the player. Again, this is the meaning and logic that goes with the preposition on.

He's the best player in the team.

Using the preposition in takes the view that the team has boundaries - borders. You are either in the team or out of the team. The player is in the team, and so the team allows the player in. You can be one of us or among us. This calls to mind the idea of exclusivity.

With the preposition on, you are either on the team or off the team. The player is on the team, and so the team supports the player. The team supports you as a player, and the team supports the other players who are part of the team. This calls to mind the idea of mutual support.


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## Keith Bradford

rino delbello said:


> OK. Thanks Keith but why do the last two collocate with different prepositions although only the grammar *rule* with '' In '' collocates with groups?


(My emphasis.)

May I declare to the universe that there are no "rules" in English (or if there are, I have never tried to promulgate them).  There are broad guidelines, there is usage, these are not rules.  All so-called "rules" may be broken if the context requires it.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Just for information, most American speakers would say "Nile is the best player on the team."

(Meant to post this a few hours ago but apparently did not hit Send.)

P.S., Steven, I've just read your #43; who or what is CW?


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## Steven David

Of course. At least, maybe, 90% or more.

Post in thread 'the funniest programme on TV (Using “on” with superlatives)' the funniest programme on TV (Using “on” with superlatives)


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## rino delbello

OK. Thanks a lot.


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