"In the Market" versus "On the Market"
In a series of posts Virtus will provide tips and advice covering many aspects of publishing. This series will be an ongoing selection of language tips, covering areas that many authors find difficult or confusing. These will be short and to the point.
Virtus Publishing Language Tip #25: “In the Market” versus “On the Market”
Continuing our look at confusion over certain words and phrases, let’s look at one that comes up fairly often: “in the market” versus “on the market.”
Here’s an example:
Before launching the company, research was conducted on competing products on the market.
Here, we’re not referring to any specific physical market. This refers to the abstract concept of a global market: so “on the market is correct.”
Let’s look at how it can get tricky:
Due to a poor growing season, pomegranates haven’t been on the market locally. That’s why we didn’t see them in the market today.
In this example, “on the market” simply refers to all of the local markets in an abstract, collective sense, while “in the market” refers to the availability in the specific market shown in the photo.
Here’s another, slightly different example of “in the market.”
Although I like a lot of the new models that are on the market, I’m not really in the market for a new guitar.
Here, “on the market” means available globally, while “in the market” means “is planning to buy.”
Once again, the context is crucial: The differences are distinct and the difference of one letter indeed makes a difference in the meaning.
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