The student said, “I came in a taxi.”
The teacher said, “Your parents are rich and you are a good student. I appreciate your parents.”
She asked another student and he said, “I came on my bicycle.”
The teacher said, “You are very brave.”
Then she asked a third boy, “How did you come?”
This boy didn’t know English grammar very well. He always repeated what others said because he was afraid of his own grammar. In this case, he wanted to follow the previous student’s way of speaking, only changing it a little. So he said, “I came on my train.”
Everybody started laughing and the boy was very sad. He said, “What is wrong? The teacher asked me and I said I came on my train. If your grammar was correct, why is mine wrong?”
The teacher said, “You can say, ‘I came in a taxi’ or ‘I came on my bicycle’. But you can’t say, ‘I came on my train’. You have to say, ‘I came by train’ or ‘I came on the train’. If somebody walks to school, one does not say, ‘I came on my feet’. One says, ‘I came by foot’. You are using your feet, but you can’t say, ‘I came by my feet’ or ‘I came on my feet’. You say, ‘I came by foot’. English grammar may seem peculiar and ridiculous, but you have to learn it. You must say, ‘I came by train’, ‘I came by car’, ‘I came by taxi’, or ‘I came in a taxi’. Don’t say, ‘I came by a taxi’ or ‘I came by the car’ or ‘by the taxi’.”
The teacher continued, “You are children. Therefore you have to learn English grammar, although it can seem peculiar at times. If you are learning English, you have to learn the grammar and usage of the language and you have to learn it the way it is spoken.”From:Sri Chinmoy,Is your mind ready to cry? Is your heart ready to smile? part 10, Agni Press, 1981
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