Why are things on the landing and not in it?

[redclover79]

DS1 was looking for me earlier and asked if I was in the landing. Why was I on the landing and not in it when I would have been in any other room in the house?

cos the landing isn't a room?

agree, the landing isn't a room.

That's what I thought, but what about the hallway? You'd be in that, but is it a room ?

the hallway tends to be more of an enclosed space in its own right, whereas the landing is usually just a bit of flat space in the stairway area.

cos the landing is a part of the structure not a room in the structure.

like saying on the roof, stairs, floor, wall etc.

So why in the hall then?

If you were to say "on the hall" when talking about a hall in the house then you would need to change it to "in the hall" if talking about a church hall.

because the hall is a room!

Depends if your landing is a 'room'. Like 'in the corridor'. Normally landings are just areas of floor, so it would be 'on'...

the landing is generally part of the staircase though (staircases comprising of flights and landings) so how can it be a room?

But you'd be in a stairwell...

I'd say a landing is a flat piece of ground/floor on which you can stand. But a well is a structure with walls up the sides, so you'd be in it. A landing isn't necessarily enclosed by walls, so you can't (always) be in it, but you can always be on it.

Because you land on something.

You can be in a stairwell as it is enclosed by walls.

Without the walls it would be a staircase and you would be on it.

I'd say a) you're on a landing because it's sort of part of the structure of a staircase and you'd say "on the stairs" and b) prepositions don't always make a lot of sense, they just are the way they are and I wouldn't lose any sleep trying to work out why

Same reason you are on a bus but in a car
It's just the rule!

Good question though!

The fact that we have flights and landings is one of the most lyrical things about living in a house. Makes me feel like a lark as I plod upstairs.

The landing is the most important space in a house too - it's make or break. I love it on a good landing. You can hear everything and go everywhere. Like being a spider.