on the armchair 还是 in the armchair？
本站特约作者 李 翔
译林版《牛津初中英语》七年级下教师用书(译林出版社 2009年11月第5次印刷) p17上有这样一句话：
We like to sitting on the sofa and armchair.
然而，下面两本工具书却明确表示 armchair 只能和 sit in 搭配，不能和 sit on 搭配：
1.周国珍主编《英语正误详解词典》（复旦大学出版社 2000年10月第一版 p61：
【误】He sat on his armchair, listening to music.
【正】He sat in his armchair, listening to music.
【译文】他坐在扶手椅上，听着音乐。
【解释】chair 是一般意义上的椅子，有靠背和座位可以视为平面，也可视为立体，因此介词既可用 on(平面)，也可用 in(立体)；而 armchair 指扶手椅，有靠背、扶手和座位组成，应视为立体，介词应用 in。又如：
The little boy sat unhappily in the big armchair. 小男孩不高兴地坐在大扶手椅上。
2. N. D. Turton and J. B. Heaton 主编的 Longman English-Chinese Dictionary of Common Errors(上海译文出版社1998年第11月第3次印刷) p27：
× She was sitting on a big armchair.
√ She was sitting in a big armchair. 她坐在一张很大的扶手椅里。
sit on a chair but sit in an armchair.
sit on后接 a chair；sit in则后接 an armchair。
那么，在英国英语和美国英语里，和动词 sit 及 seat 搭配的究竟是 in the / an armchair 还是 on the / an armchair 呢？请看以下真实例证：
1.在BNC(英国国家语料库http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk)和BUY-BNC BRTISH NATIONAL CORPUS (UK,1980s-1993) (Mark Davies, Brigham Young University ) http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/上共有5例包含on the/ an armchair的例证，其中无有1例 on the / an armchair和动词sit及 seat搭配的例证：
(1) Tom put a bundle on the armchair.
(2) He stood Willie on the armchair, took the towel away and placed the nightshirt over his head, cutting more away from the hem until Willie’s toes and hands came into view.
(3) “You can dry Sammy with that ole towel,” said Tom, indicating one lying on the armchair.
(4) I often have to get up with Graham, carry him into the living room and nurse him into the living room and nurse him on the armchair.
(5) And William standing in the middle of the kitchen looking pained and vaguely apologetic, and a reference book on Deaths among Rural Clergy during the Black Death lying recently discarded on an armchair.
共有142例包含 in the / an armchair 的例证，其中有78例 in the / an armchair 和动词 sit 及 seat 搭配的例证。
2. 在TIME CORPUS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH (1923-2006) (Mark Davies, Brigham Young University ) (http://corpus.byu.edu/time)上共有1例 on the / an armchair 和动词 sit 及 seat 搭配的例证：
1963/12/03 On opening night, the confused guests sat down on the armchair that was part of Jim Dine’s painting called Four Rooms, and piled their champagne glasses into the porcelain sink (painted black) that is part of his lesser work, Black Bathroom No. 2.
共有51例包含in the / an armchair的例证，其中有17例 in the/ an armchair 和动词sit及 seat搭配的例证。
3. 在BUY CORPUS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH (1990-2009) (Mark Davies, Brigham Young University) http://www.americancorpus.org/ 上共有21例包含 on the/ an armchair 的例证，其中有7例 on the / an armchair 和动词 sit 及 seat 搭配的例证。
有184例包含in the / an armchair 的例证，其中有52例 in the / an armchair 和动词 sit 及 seat搭配的例证。
从以上例证可以看出：在英国英语里，和动词 sit 及 seat 搭配的通常只能是 in the/an armchair，而不能是 on the/an armchair。在美国英语里，和动词 sit 及 seat 搭配的 in the/an armchair 和 on the/an armchair 的比率是68:8。也就是说美国英语里，和动词sit及 seat搭配的习惯是in the/an armchair，而不习惯用on the/an armchair。
由此可以得出这样一个结论：“坐在扶手椅上”习惯用 sit 及 seat 和 in the / an armchair来表达，而不用 on the / an armchair 表达。作为初中学生教材的译林版《牛津初中英语》应该采用大家都接受的说法。