Prepositions on TV

Johnny   Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:08 pm GMT
I have never know what preposition I am supposed to use with "commercial", "advertisement", "tv series", "episode", "season".

I saw it in/on a commercial (on TV).
I heard it in/on a commercial (on the radio).
I heard that tune in/on commercial (on TV).
I saw it in/on the second series/season/episode of "That 70's Show".
And so on.

What the hell? I think you can see both used on the net by native speakers, so I have no idea what's idiomatic. Thanks.
eeuuian   Wed Jan 14, 2009 1:24 am GMT
I'd suggest

I saw it in a commercial on TV. (-or- TV commercial.)
I heard it in a commercial on (the) radio. (-or- radio commercial)
I heard that tune in a commercial on TV.
I saw it during/(in) the second season of "That 70's Show".
I saw it in the second episode of "That 70's Show".
Sarmackie   Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:40 pm GMT
It's really preference whether you use in or on for these. Either one works.

Keep in mind too that in British English, they call a show or series a 'programme', or something funny like that, and they call a season a 'series'. Commercials are 'spots' or 'adverts'.
Caspian   Thu Jan 15, 2009 5:10 pm GMT
<< Keep in mind too that in British English, they call a show or series a 'programme', or something funny like that, and they call a season a 'series'. Commercials are 'spots' or 'adverts'. >>

Hardly funny...
In Britain, it's like this:
A programme is a normallt recurring 'show' on television.
A series is a collection of episodes / programmes all compiled, so you might have 'Series 1 - 3' - or 'The Complete Series 1'.

It makes perfect sense...
Sarmackie   Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:44 pm GMT
...unless you've spent your whole life referring to a programme as a series and a series as a season.
Sander   Thu Jan 15, 2009 7:55 pm GMT
The British way of speaking always makes me laugh.
Caspian   Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:07 pm GMT
Well, I guess that's fair, we laugh at the Americans too - so I suppose it's equal! Are you American, Sander?
!   Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:09 pm GMT
He's a troll Caspian
Sander   Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:41 pm GMT
I am a Dutch.
Robin Michael   Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:56 pm GMT
First of all: What is a preposition?

What is a Preposition?
16 Aug 2007 ... A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called ...

I noticed an example of 'prepositions' being missed out in a local newspaper headline.

"Methane gas points to live on Mars"

"Emissions may have biological source"

Both sentences are correct, but they sound more like spoken English than written English. The second sentence in particular should have 'The'

"The emmissions may have a biological source."

However, if you said "The" it would sound much more 'correct' and 'formal'.

Non-native speakers often miss out 'prepositions' and talk in 'telegraphic speech' lacking any grammar. This is fine for conveying meaning in an emergency, but is not so good for making subtle distinctions.
Robin Michael   Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:03 pm GMT
Sorry my mistake - a typo!

<<
"Methane gas points to live on Mars"
>>

Methane gas points to life on Mars"

I hope that helps!

The mistake (accidental) totally alters the meaning and makes the sentence meaningless. However I think most British people would quickly spot the letter that I had typed incorrectly.

One Letter wrong: From meaningful to incomprehension!
Language Lover   Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:07 pm GMT
I would say "I am a Dutch person" or "I'm Dutch" not "I'm a Dutch." Whenever I see "I'm a French." it strikes me as very, very odd and wrong.

If it's British usage to say it that way, please let me know.
Robin Michael   Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:42 am GMT
Dear Language Lover

You are quite right: "I am a Dutch person" or "I'm Dutch" is correct. I am sure that people are asked to do these exercises on things like 'prepositions' as a way introducing them to different aspects of a language. There really is not a great deal of difference between:

I saw it in/on a commercial (on TV).

I have to think a little bit to decide which alternative I would use and why I would use it. Presumably that is the whole point of the exercise, that it gets you thinking about an obscure grammatical point. Hopefully when you have mastered it, you can move on to something else.

I honestly think that you can use either. Which suggests that it is not a very good exercise because it is not bringing out an important point.

If you used 'telegraphic speech' and said:

Tune on TV commercial

(I heard that tune in/on commercial (on TV).)

You would sound like some character in Star Trek, who was pretending to be a Space Alien or Simpleton. The abbreviated version misses out a lot of important information that the person listening has to guess.

Who heard? 'I'
What tune? 'that tune'
Where? 'on a commercial shown on TV'

When you listen to non-native speakers of English, you often have to ask these additional questions to get round their lack of proper grammar.

However British people can get away with Grunts and Sighs, because there is common understanding of what these things mean.
Uriel   Sun Jan 18, 2009 8:24 am GMT
I saw it in/on a commercial (on TV).
I heard it in/on a commercial (on the radio).
I heard that tune in/on commercial (on TV).
I saw it in/on the second series/season/episode of "That 70's Show".


I think it would be okay to use "on" in all of those sentences. But "in" would not be incorrect, either.
Guest   Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:36 am GMT
>I'm a Dutch< is an answer to >He's a troll< meaning Sander is a Dutch troll.

<old people>
<sigh>