ENGLISH
REFERENCE

on the floor

prep. phr..
A1 Beginner Oxford

prep. phr.. Describes the location of something that is resting on the surface you walk on inside a building.

prep. phr.. A prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial of place, indicating that something is situated upon the interior ground surface of a building.


SIMPLE

My keys are on the floor.

CONTEXTUAL

After playing, the children left all their toys scattered on the floor of the living room.

COMPLEX

The dancer collapsed in a graceful heap on the floor, her performance concluding with a moment of dramatic stillness.

Usage

This phrase literally means on the surface of a room, but can also be used figuratively to mean laughing very hard.

Teaching tip

Contrast with 'on the ground' (for outside) and 'on the street' to highlight that 'floor' refers to an interior surface.

Pitfall

The cat is sleeping in the floor.The cat is sleeping on the floor.Use 'on' to talk about being on top of a surface, and 'in' for being inside something.

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