I need help

[Looting]

Hello, im from Croatia. I need to know what this means:
"he was swept on to the train". What im curious about is does this means
that he is being pushed ON the train, or that he is being pushed inside the
train, couse my english teacher says that he is pushed ON the train, but i
say that he is pushed inside the train. Thanks

[Leszek L.]

Post by Looting
"he was swept on to the train". What im curious about is does this means
that he is being pushed ON the train, or that he is being pushed inside the
train, couse my english teacher says that he is pushed ON the train, but i
say that he is pushed inside the train. Thanks

A lot depends on the context, but "on the train" can mean
inside the train, not only on top of it.

Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" was committed
inside the train, where passengers normally are during a journey,
not on the top of a car or on the chimney of the locomotive.

All the best,
L.

[Einde O'Callaghan]

Post by Looting
"he was swept on to the train". What im curious about is does this means
that he is being pushed ON the train, or that he is being pushed inside the
train, couse my english teacher says that he is pushed ON the train, but i
say that he is pushed inside the train. Thanks

I would write it "He was swept onto the train". Without further context
I would say that this means the person was standing in the middle of a
crowd waiting to get on a train and when the crowd eventually got onto
the train he was carried into one the carriages by the pressure of the
crowd around him.

Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

[h***@gmail.com]

Post by Einde O'Callaghan

Post by Looting
"he was swept on to the train". What im curious about is does this means
that he is being pushed ON the train, or that he is being pushed inside the
train, couse my english teacher says that he is pushed ON the train, but i
say that he is pushed inside the train. Thanks

I would write it "He was swept onto the train". Without further context
I would say that this means the person was standing in the middle of a
crowd waiting to get on a train and when the crowd eventually got onto
the train he was carried into one the carriages by the pressure of the
crowd around him.
Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

It's almost impossible to say without knowing the context as noted by
the previous writers. Yet, like most languages, English contains a
number of metaphorical expressions and given the relatively few folks
who ride on top of trains in the first world, I almost automatically
agreed with your teacher. However, I can imagine situations in India,
Mexico, or other developing nations where you could be correct. What's
the source material?