in vs on (e.g. "in the team" vs "on the team")

[Ichiro]

Non-native speakers including myself often encounter a problem with prepositions.
I understand the basic concept of the both prepositions "in" and "on",
but this never means I can use them properly in conversations or writings.
Let me show an example which I found the other day.

1. Mark and James are on the same baseball team.
2. Mark and James are in the same class.

I can not tell the reason why "on" is used in the first sentence instead of "in".
I also wonder how the meanings will change according to the prepositions.

3. Mark and James are in the same baseball team.
4. Mark and James are on the same class.

Could you please explain the difference between 1 and 3 (or 2 and 4)?

[Alan]

Hi,

I believe that 'in' would be more appropriate in your context suggesting that they are members of the same team/class. 'On' in a similar context would refer to these two people being 'on' a list of members/on a membership list..

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Subjunctive