Sitting On a chair or In a chair

If you are someone who has been facing a lot of confusions over the past few days just because you are not sure whether you could say that a person is sitting on a chair or in a chair, believe me.. this is a sign of you getting better at your English. Before, I could tell you the difference between on a chair and in a chair, take a peek at the following images.

Example 1

Example 2

The above two images are classic and clear examples to let one know the difference between 'on the chair' and 'in the chair'.

Difference between sitting on the chair and sitting in the chair:

'On the chair' is similar to 'on the couch'. When we use a chair or a couch just to sit and kill sometime or do work, we say 'on the chair'. The tricky part is.. where to use 'in the chair'.

From example 2, it can be clearly seen that the old man is reading a newspaper sitting in an armchair. An armchair is one type of chair that apart from letting you sit, will also help you feel relaxed by getting some rest. You would almost feel like you would be surrounded by the chair because it's huge. Hence, here we use 'in the chair'. From the image, it is understood that the old man is so comfortable, he almost is relaxing in the chair like it's a bed. That is why, 'in the chair' is used for example 2.

Only when the chair is big with armrests and soft cushion to help us relax, we say 'in the chair'. For everything else, we say 'on the chair'.

Note: In corporate offices, you might find big chairs with armrests and great cushions, but you should only say 'on the chair' to sound professional.   

Your feedback or comments are welcome!