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How are on and in different in the following:

We live on different time zones

We live in different time zones

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closed as too localized by RegDwighт♦ Sep 5 '12 at 9:54

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

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We live in different time zones

This is the correct form. You live in a defined area.

You could use on if you were physically on top of something.

We live on the continent

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2  
Your answer to the time zones question is accurate, but you've oversimplified how the word "on" can be used. I can be on the telephone, on hold, waiting for someone on the other end. I can live on campus, but, in that case, "on" means within the confines of, more than it means physically on top of. I can live on a mountain, but that doesn't mean I live "on top" of the mountain. Radios and light bulbs can be "on the table," or they can simply be on. And on and on it goes. – J.R. Sep 5 '12 at 17:49

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