Learning from the Other Side: on / in

Question

So I have begun to notice when speaking with native-Spanish speakers who are learning or practicing their English, that they will sometimes confuse the two words "in" and "on" in a sentence which necessitates one or the other.

For example, "I put the hat in my head"

Yes, there is a brief moment of received humor in reading such a statement, but then, I realized that I'm actually seeing, or learning, something about Spanish in recognizing the misstep here, that the Spanish word "en" serves both purposes in place of "in" or "on". I'm pretty sure that's right, but does anyone want to confirm this?

ALSO, in the same vein, I've seen some confusion with "to say" and "to tell", but, in this case, our dictionary here does indicate two different words, "decir" and "contar". Is there a lesson to be learned when observing this ambiguity?

Gracias

Answer 1

This is just a side note. Several times a week I get to have 5-20 min conversations in Spanish with with native Spanish speakers -- whose English is as bad as my Spanish. It is a real kick and I love it. We flip-flop back and forth from Spanish to English and back -- and laugh a whole lot. (Most of my conversations are with Spanish speakers who do not speak English or are fluent in both.)

Answer 2

Well, distinguishing when to use those words (in and on) in English takes a long time for non-native speakers to use them correctly. The same goes in Spanish. It will just take a bunch of exposure to know how to use those words without ambiguity.

Answer 3

encima = above. I talk to native speakers all day at my restaurant, working at a restaurant is really helpful for me.

Answer 4

encima de = inside of?

Answer 5

Yes, that's true."En" in Spanish means both "in" and "on." But, when it comes to its second meaning, you can also say "encima de." For example: El gato está en el coche. = El gato está encima del coche.