Learn English – “found in the list” or “found on the list”

prepositions

I usually have some doubts when I have to use prepositions, and one of my most frequent ones is when I should use “in” and when I should use “on”.

For example:

Returns true if the profile is found in the list, false otherwise.

Is it OK to say “in”, or should I use “on” there? Is there any strict rule about using “in” or “on”?

Best Answer

“In” implies boundaries in two or more directions. With a list, especially in coding, it’s entirely appropriate to say “in the list” in reference to something within the start and end boundaries of the list.

“On” suggests a floor of some kind, that is to say a surface that provides a lower boundary. With so many lists made on paper, it will not sound strange to say “on a list” because the list can be thought of as existing on a surface.

Summary: In this case, it’s up to you! The former seems more context-appropriate if you ask me, but neither should offend anybody. You’re either being more literal (“in”) or more figurative (“on”).

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