Question 1

What is the difference between noun plus in and noun plus on?

Accepted Answer

Nouns followed by "in" usually describe changes, quantities, or involvement within something: "increase in," "rise in," "interest in," "belief in," "experience in." Nouns followed by "on" usually describe focus, impact, restrictions, or effects directed at something: "effect on," "ban on," "emphasis on," "attack on," "impact on." A helpful way to remember is that "in" suggests being inside or part of something (a rise happens within prices), while "on" suggests directing attention or force at something (an effect lands on a target). However, some nouns break this pattern, so always learn each combination individually rather than relying on the pattern alone.

Question 2

Which nouns are followed by in in English?

Accepted Answer

The most common nouns followed by "in" include: "increase in" (an increase in costs), "decrease in" (a decrease in quality), "rise in" (a rise in crime), "fall in" (a fall in profits), "interest in" (interest in science), "belief in" (belief in justice), "confidence in" (confidence in the team), "experience in" (experience in teaching), and "improvement in" (improvement in standards). You will notice that many of these nouns describe measurable changes — increases, decreases, rises, and falls almost always take "in." Learning this group together makes them easier to remember. These phrases appear frequently in IELTS Writing Task 1 when describing graphs and charts.

Question 3

Which nouns are followed by on in English?

Accepted Answer

The most common nouns followed by "on" include: "effect on" (a bad effect on sleep), "impact on" (a huge impact on the environment), "ban on" (a ban on mobile phones), "emphasis on" (emphasis on teamwork), "influence on" (a strong influence on young people), "attack on" (an attack on the building), "tax on" (a tax on sugar), and "focus on" (a focus on grammar). These nouns generally describe something directed at a target — an effect hits something, a ban restricts something, emphasis is placed onto something. Recognising this directional quality of "on" helps you guess correctly with unfamiliar combinations. Cambridge B2 First regularly tests these in multiple-choice cloze exercises.

Noun + IN & ON Exercises

Quick Rule

Continue Practising

Prepositions of Time and Place Error Correction

In, On, At for Time

In, On, At for Place

-ed vs -ing Adjectives

Conditionals

Present Perfect