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There vs On - What's the difference?

there | on |

In obsolete terms the difference between there and on

is that there is where, there where, in which place while on is at the peril of, or for the safety of.

As adverbs the difference between there and on

is that there is in a place or location (stated, implied or otherwise indicated) at some distance from the speaker (compare here) while on is to an operating state.

As an interjection there

is Used to offer encouragement or sympathy.

As a noun there

is that place.

As a pronoun there

is Used as an expletive subject of {{term|be in its sense of “exist”, with the semantic, usually indefinite subject being postponed or (occasionally) implied.}.

As an adjective on is

in the state of being active, functioning or operating.

As a preposition on is

positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.

As a verb on is

to switch on.

As an abbreviation ON is

ontario, a province of Canada.

there

English

Adverb

(-)
  • (location) In a place or location (stated, implied or otherwise indicated) at some distance from the speaker (compare here ).
  • * 1623 , , The Comedy of Errors , Act 5, Scene 1,
  • And in a dark and dankish vault at home / There left me and my man, both bound together;
  • * 1769 , , 2, viii,
  • The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
  • * 1667 , '', 1773, James Buchanan (editor), ''The First Six Books of Milton's Paradise Lost: Rendered into Grammatical Construction , page 381,
  • To veil the heav'n, tho' darkne?s there' might well / Seem twilight ' here .
  • (figuratively) In that matter, relation, etc.; at that point, stage, etc., regarded as a distinct place.
  • He did not stop there , but continued his speech.
    They patched up their differences, but matters did not end there .
  • * 1597 '', Act 3, Scene 3, 1836, ''The Works of Shakespeare , Isaac, Tuckey, and Co., page 825,
  • The law, that threaten’d death, becomes thy friend / And turns it to exile; there art thou happy.
  • (location) To or into that place; thither.
  • * , prologue:
  • A knight there was, and that a worthy man /
  • * 1623 , , Act 2, Scene 1,
  • And the rarest that e’er came there .
  • * 1690 , , paragraph 4:
  • So that wherever there is sense or perception, there some idea is actually produced, and present in the understanding.
  • * 1769 , , 28, vii,
  • There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:
  • (obsolete) Where, there where, in which place.
  • * , The Summoners's Prologue and Tale]'', in ''[[w:The Canterbury Tales, The Canterbury Tales] ,
  • And spende hir good ther it is resonable;
  • *:: Note : Modern editions commonly render this instance of ther'' as ''where .
  • In existence or in this world; see pronoun section below .
  • * 1928 January, Captain Ferdinand Tuohy, "Why Don't We Fly?", in Popular Science , page 144:
  • These firms do not want the truth to get out and are financing these flights in the hope of dazzling the public. Yet the record of the gas engine is there for all to see.

    Usage notes

    * The use of there'' instead of they're (meaning ''they are ) is a common error in English writing. * (to or into that place) ** There'' is sometimes used by way of exclamation, calling attention to something, especially to something distant; as, There, there'''! See '''there'''! Look ' there ! ** There is often used as an expletive, and in this use, when it introduces a sentence or clause, the verb precedes its subject. ** There is much used in composition, and often has the sense of a pronoun. See thereabout, thereafter, therefrom, etc.

    Synonyms

    * (to or into that place) thither (archaic)

    Derived terms

    * * * * * * * * * * *

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • There, there. Everything is going to turn out all right.
  • There! That knot should hold.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • That place.
  • *
  • *
  • That status; that position.
  • You get it ready; I'll take it from there .

    Pronoun

    (English Pronouns)
  • There are two apples on the table. [=Two apples are on the table.]
    There is no way to do it. [=No way to do it exists.]
    Is there an answer? [=Does an answer exist?]
    No, there isn't. [=No, one doesn't exist.]
  • * 1908', C. H. Bovill (lyrics), Jerome D. Kern (music), '''', song from the musical ''Fluffy Ruffles ,
  • It's very sad but all the same, / There ’s something rather odd about Augustus.
  • * 1909', ,
  • There was a time when I tried to change my position, which was not in harmony with my conscience; .
  • * 1918 , , Part 1, II,
  • There are intentional and unintentional towns.
  • If x is a positive number, then there''' exists ''[='''there is]'' a positive number y less than x.
    There remain several problems with this approach. [=Several problems remain with this approach.]
    Once upon a time, in a now-forgotten kingdom, there''' lived a woodsman with his wife.'' [=' There was a woodsman, who lived with his wife.]
    There''' arose a great wind out of the east.'' [=' There was now a great wind, arising in the east.]
  • * 1895 , Sabine Baring-Gould, : Nursery Songs, XXII: The Tree in the Wood,
  • All in a wood there grew a fine tree,
  • * 1897 , '': The Kentucky Home, in ''Four Great Americans ,
  • Not far from Hodgensville, in Kentucky, there once lived a man whose name was Thomas Lincoln.
  • * 1904 , Uriel Waldo Cutler, , Chapter XXXI: How Sir Launcelot Found the Holy Grail,
  • On a night, as he slept, there came a vision unto him, and a voice said, "Launcelot, arise up, and take thine armour, and enter into the first ship that thou shalt find."
  • There''' seems to be some difficulty with the papers.'' [=It seems that ' there is some difficulty with the papers.]
    I expected there''' to be a simpler solution.'' [=I expected that ' there would be a simpler solution.]
    There''' are beginning to be complications.'' [=It's beginning to be the case that ' there are complications.]
  • (in combination with certain prepositions, no longer productive) That.
  • there'''for, '''there'''at, ' there under
  • (colloquial)
  • Hi there , young fellow.

    Usage notes

    * In formal English, the verb agrees with the semantic subject: “there is a tree”, “there are some trees”, “there seems to be a mistake”, “there seem to be some mistakes”, and so on. This is because the "there [form of be]" construction originally used, and could still be said to use, "there" as simply an adverb modifying "to be". However, the syntax is archaic enough that "there" is rarely recognized as an adverb. In colloquial usage, therefore, the verb is often found in the third-person singular form, even when the semantic subject is plural — “there’s some trees”, “there seems to be some mistakes” — but this is often considered incorrect.

    See also

    *

    Statistics

    *

    on

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) (m), , see (m).

    Adjective

    (-)
  • In the state of being active, functioning or operating.
  • Performing according to schedule.
  • Are we still on for tonight?
    Is the show still on ?
  • (UK, informal) Acceptable, appropriate.
  • right on'''''; ''bang '''on'''''; ''not '''on
  • (informal) Destined, normally in the context of a challenge being accepted; involved, doomed.
  • "Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ?"You're on !"
    Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now.
  • (baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter.
  • Synonyms
    * base (not informal)

    Adverb

    (-)
  • To an operating state.
  • turn the television on
  • Along, forwards (continuing an action).
  • drive on''', rock '''on
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2012 , date=May 5 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool , work=BBC Sport , url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17878435 , page= , passage=He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on , with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.}}
  • In continuation, at length.
  • and so on .
    He rambled on''' and '''on .
  • (cricket) In, or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman; leg.
  • (not US) Later.
  • Ten years on nothing had changed in the village.
    Antonyms
    * off * (to an operating state) off * (later) after, afterward/afterwards, later, subsequently, thence

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above.
  • * Longfellow
  • I stood on the bridge at midnight.
  • At or near; adjacent to.
  • Soon we'll pass a statue on the left.
    The fleet is on the American coast.
  • Covering.
  • At the date of.
  • Some time during the day of.
  • Dealing with the subject of, about, or concerning something.
  • Touching; hanging from.
  • (informal) In the possession of.
  • Because of, or due to.
  • Immediately after.
  • Paid for by.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.}}
  • Away or occupied with (e.g. a scheduled activity).
  • Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with.
  • to play on a violin or piano
    Her words made a lasting impression on my mind.
  • (senseid) Regularly taking (a drug).
  • (senseid) Under the influence of (a drug).
  • (mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain.
  • a function on V
  • (mathematics) Having V^n as domain and V'' as codomain, for some set ''V'' and integer ''n .
  • an operator on V
  • (mathematics) Generated by.
  • Supported by (the specified part of itself).
  • At a given time after the start of something; .
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 24, author=Aled Williams, work=BBC Sport
  • , title=[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/14957961.stm Chelsea 4-1 Swansea] , passage=The Spain striker had given Chelsea the lead on 29 minutes but was shown a straight red card 10 minutes later for a rash challenge on Mark Gower.}}
  • In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series.
  • heaps on heaps of food
    mischief on''' mischief; loss '''on loss
    (Shakespeare)
  • (obsolete) of
  • * Shakespeare
  • Be not jealous on me.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Or have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?
  • Indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in.
  • I depended on them for assistance.
    He will promise on certain conditions.
    Do you ever bet on horses?
  • Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion.
  • Have pity or compassion on him.
  • (obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of.
  • * Dryden
  • Hence, on thy life.
  • In the service of; connected with; of the number of.
  • He is on''' a newspaper; I am '''on the committee.
  • By virtue of; with the pledge of.
  • He affirmed or promised on''' his word, or '''on his honour.
  • To the account of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon.
  • On us be all the blame.
    A curse on him!
  • * Bible, Matthew xxvii. 25
  • His blood be on' us and ' on our children.
    Derived terms
    * depend on * on-campus * put on airs *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (Singapore) To switch on.
  • Can you on the light?
    Synonyms
    *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Alternative forms

    * (l)

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Without.
  • Usage notes
    * Usually followed by a perfect participle, as being'', ''having , etc.

    Statistics

    *