Prepositions in/on

[ROBINDESBOIS]

When do we say in and on with parts of the body ?
Ex he hit me on thhe head and kicked me in the stomach.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

When do we say in and on with parts of the body ?
Ex he hit me on thhe head and kicked me in the stomach.

I think the difference is between internal and external organs. With external organs, an injury can be considered to come from above:

He hit me on the jaw
He hit me on the chin
He hit me on the foot
.. the head.. the leg .. the arm...the nose .. the mouth.. etc.

Some organs are not immediately damaged from above:

A punch in the stomach, ... the eye ... the face ... the goolies...ribs...

[wrholt]

There isn't a straightforward and simple answer: with almost any part of the surface of the body we sometimes say "in" and sometimes say "on". In any context usually only one of them is correct, but the context depends on several factors including: (a) the particular area of the body and how "internal" or "external" it is, (b) the type of touch, (c) the instrument or object that touches, and (d) the expectation or likelihood of injury resulting from the touch.

In general, the more external the part of the body and the smaller the internal effect of the touch, the more likely it is to say "on", and the more internal the part of the body and the greater the internal effect of the touch, the more likely it is to say "in".

So, if someone uses his hand or fist or a small, light weapon, he probably hits me "on" the head. But if he shoots at me with a gun and the bullet hits my head, then he (or the bullet) hits me "in" the head.

The "internalness" of a part of the body isn't always logical or intuitive: as Perikles points out, it's normal to say "hit in the stomach/ribs/chest". However, those areas can also be viewed as being protected by the arms, which we typically use to deflect blows to the front or sides of the torso.

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Thanks. Why do we say " Don´t keep putting your hands in my face? and on the contrary The mugger struck his victim in/on the face?
Can we use on in the first sentence too?
Thanks in advance.

[Awaken]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

Thanks. Why do we say " Don´t keep putting your hands in my face? and on the contrary The mugger struck his victim in/on the face?
Can we use on in the first sentence too?
Thanks in advance.

"in my face" = "in the area of my face" in this case. If someone truly put his hands on your face, you would use "on".

The rest isn't as cut and dry over here in the states.

For internal organs, it is always in.
He hit me in the "stomach, kidney, etc..."

For eye, it is always "in" - Poked in the eye, never on.

The rest seem to be gray in the US. You can definitely hear "you hit him in the head" over here. With arm, I hear it both ways. "Hit him on the arm" or "punch him in the arm" are both used.

Maybe the BrE is more cut and dry than ours?