Wednesday, May 13, 2015

word choice - The nuance of 'in' and 'inside'


See these sentences:



See there, it seems that someone is inside the house. OVER
See there, it seems that someone is in the house.




Another example:



The doctors found two bullets in his body. OVER
The doctors found two bullets inside his body.



Certainly, both are interchangeable, aren't they? But in the bullet's example, the second one looks natural. I'm not sure why. Is it something that bullets were first out and then they went inside? But if that's the case, someone is in the house is also okay. That person too was out first!



Answer



Inside is strictly locative, and used where the location is enclosed. You can't be inside a field, or inside a city because the enclosure is missing.


In is locative in terms of within boundaries but is not necessarily enclosed (in the garden), and can be used for participation such as being in a club or in a race.



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