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Which one of the sentences below is correct:

  • Have you ever gotten in a dump truck.

  • Have you ever gotten on a dump truck.

For example, I have learned that we say in a taxi, not on a taxi.

Jim Reynolds
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A-friend
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    They are both correct. What are you trying to say? – J.R. Aug 07 '16 at 09:42
  • Have you ever gotten into a dump truck, A-friend? Why are you asking this question? – JavaLatte Aug 07 '16 at 09:54
  • @JimReynolds thank you very much for the concern. You are well aware about my intention. Please do me a favor and answer my question. :) – A-friend Aug 07 '16 at 10:16
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    It is better if you say why you are asking, and give more information. For example, if you have 50 questions like this for school homework, we don't want to answer them here. – Jim Reynolds Aug 07 '16 at 10:19
  • @J.R. I was going to know if one should say "get in" or "get on" a dump truck. Like when you say: "get in a taxi" not "on a taxi". – A-friend Aug 07 '16 at 10:23
  • I made the prepositions bold; So I meant about the correct preposition. I really don't know why and who down votes my question. If you do not know why I have asked a question, ask me to explain. For me this bringing up question implies that I need to know the proper preposition. I have no idea why some people do not consider that here people like me are learning. If we were experts then why we had to ask any question. – A-friend Aug 07 '16 at 10:30
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    The question is off topic because you can look up the words get, in, and on a dictionary and find your answer. Which dictionaries have you consulted? What is it about the dictionary definitions that you don't understand or that you find confusing? Last, there are many questions here about in, on, at, including this one, which has an answer with a +50 score that explains what the difference between on and in is regarding vehicles. You either get in or on a truck. Either one. – Alan Carmack Aug 07 '16 at 10:36
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    We still want more information in your questions. If you will later ask 100 questions about in or on, we won't answer them here, because it's better for you to find a book or a website that teaches you about prepositions of location. – Jim Reynolds Aug 07 '16 at 10:38
  • We do say (get/ride/sit) on a taxi if on is what we mean. – Alan Carmack Aug 07 '16 at 10:54
  • It seems to me that a reasonably intelligent person can infer that an OP asking such a basic question in such a basic way is very likely asking about a common situation. What do you suppose is the ratio of people who are on taxis vs. in them at a given moment? It is not neccessarily a simple matter to look up in or on in dictionaries, which have scores of definitions for these terms, and answer the question. (Why on a bus, but in a car?) It is very arguably not a duplicate of "in the park or at the park", though it may be helpful to point someone there if it answers this question. – Jim Reynolds Aug 07 '16 at 14:08

1 Answers1

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Both of them are correct.

If you want to say inside the front part, on the seat, then we can use in or on. They are both correct.

If you want to say inside the back part of a dump truck, we will usually say in, but it's also ok to say on.

Jim Reynolds
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  • Interesting: I wouldn't use on if I was talking about getting in the cab. Maybe that's a regional thing? – J.R. Aug 07 '16 at 11:00
  • @J.R. If we include the word cab, we use in, but for trucks, buses, planes, we use either to mean in (the cab/cabin). I'll try to add some examples to the answer if I can find them. – Jim Reynolds Aug 07 '16 at 14:15
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    I don't know - if somebody were getting in the cab of a truck, I think I would only ever use in, never on. On makes it sound like they're on top. In general, I don't think one rides on a truck like one does for a bus or plane, because a truck is not usually a mass conveyance like a bus or plane. Maybe it's a regional variance like J.R. says. – stangdon Aug 07 '16 at 15:21
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    @stangdon - If you were driving a dump truck, and you told me, "Get on," I'd assume you'd want me to stand up and ride in the back. I suppose that's possible if the dump truck is being used as a makeshift conveyance to haul people instead of dirt. – J.R. Aug 07 '16 at 17:15