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Andrey
On the TV/on television
Hello.
I was wondering if I could ask Americans which one of these they tend to use talking about watching television.
1. I saw you on the TV
2. I saw you on television
Thanks in advance
Oct 16, 2016 6:10 PM
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Answers · 6
In the United States, "I saw you on the TV" is wrong. "I saw you on television" or "I saw you on TV" are both natural, and I can't say which is more common.
An old Mickey Mouse song has Mickey singing "I'm a happy mouse/And I ought to be/'Cause you let me in your house/And watch me on TV."
In a famous George Carlin monologue, he says "There are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television."
October 16, 2016
The second - "I saw you on television" sounds normal. The other one is understood but awkward; it would be more correct if you saw them standing on top of the television because of the word 'the' talking about the object, rather than the programming. We would probably do a mix and shorten it to "I saw you on TV"
October 16, 2016
In some parts of the U.S. 'on the TV' is used. This would be a dialectical usage in the south and Midwest. I hear it quite frequently. But, as the others stated, on TV or on television, is proper.
October 16, 2016
It is #2. #1 means that the person is standing on the TV set.
October 16, 2016
