on top vs. on the top

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Before you ask a question…
[size=150][color=red]On top of the page you will find a small white box marked ‘Google’. [/size]

Is [color=red]On top of the page fine? What about “On the top of this page”?

2

I really prefer “at the top of the/this page.” If I place an apple on a page, it is on top of the page. If I ask where a certain passage is, you will tell me it is at the top of the page.

3

Thanks for pointing this out.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: Weightlifting[YSaerTTEW443543]

4

Thank you, Mordant.

  • [color=green]On the top of the page you will find…
  • [color=blue]At the top of the page you will find…
    Which is correct? I think the second is.
5

Tofu, the use of the article makes “on” more justifiable than before, but I still find it more natural and common to use “at” for location of something with a document.

6

Thank you, Mordant.

7

Hello Mordant,

When do we use “on top of something”?
Maybe if something (like a paper weight) is stacked/piled on top of the page?

Thanks!

8

oxfordadvancedlearnersdictio … ionary/top
on top of something/somebody

1 on, over or covering something/somebody
Books were piled on top of one another.
Many people were crushed when the building collapsed on top of them.

2 in addition to something
He gets commission on top of his salary.
On top of everything else, my car’s been stolen.

3 very close to something/somebody
We were all living on top of each other in that tiny apartment.

4 in control of a situation
Do you think he’s really on top of his job?
Work tends to pile up if I don’t keep on top of it.