on the top of | The Grammar Exchange

quote:

(a) She sits on (the) top of (the )stairs.
(b) There is some snow on top of / on the top
of mountain.

When you use “THE top,” “top” is a noun. You are referrring to a place that is at the highest level of something. You are referring to a particular place, which has physical boundaries.

So, “at the top of the stairs” denotes the very place at the top of the stairs. It would not include the physical space of all the stairs, but only that small area where she is sitting, which is at the uppermost part of the staircase.
_______

On the other hand, “on top of” is a three-word preposition. It means “over” + “touching the surface below” at the same time.

You wouldn’t say she sits on top of the stairs. You can say, “We put a protective rubber coating on top of the stairs.” This means that you put a protective rubber coating on top of each stair. Here it has the same meaning as “on.”
_______
You can say that there is some snow on top of the mountain. This means that snow covers the mountain; the snow is over the mountain and touching it at the same time. You are not necessarily limiting your comments to the uppermost part of the mountain, or its top. You could be talking about the entire mountain, although if you were, you would more likely say, “There is snow on the mountain.”

If you say, “There is some snow on THE top of mountain,” you are referring to the top part of the mountain, and that’s where you see the snow.
______

For good skiing conditions, there should be snow ON / ON TOP OF the mountain. You need snow on the entire mountain if you want to ski down.

But, to describe beautiful views in Switzerland, for example, you could say that there is snow ON THE TOPS OF the mountains even when the rest of the mountains are covered with flowers.
_______

Sometimes people use “on top of” and “on the top of” to describe the same thing. “On top of the mountain” is often very similar to “on the top of the mountain”; the listener would understand.

However, “AT” the top of something is different. “at” needs “the” before “top of.” The sentence about the stairs needs “at,” not “on.” Therefore, the sentence has to be “She is sitting AT THE top of the stairs.”

Rachel

When you use “THE top,” “top” is a noun. You are referrring to a place that is at the highest level of something. You are referring to a particular place, which has physical boundaries.So, “at the top of the stairs” denotes the very place at the top of the stairs. It would not include the physical space of all the stairs, but only that small area where she is sitting, which is at the uppermost part of the staircase._______On the other hand, “on top of” is a three-word preposition. It means “over” + “touching the surface below” at the same time.You wouldn’t say she sits on top of the stairs. You can say, “We put a protective rubber coating on top of the stairs.” This means that you put a protective rubber coating on top of each stair. Here it has the same meaning as “on.”_______You can say that there is some snow on top of the mountain. This means that snow covers the mountain; the snow is over the mountain and touching it at the same time. You are not necessarily limiting your comments to the uppermost part of the mountain, or its top. You could be talking about the entire mountain, although if you were, you would more likely say, “There is snow on the mountain.”If you say, “There is some snow on THE top of mountain,” you are referring to the top part of the mountain, and that’s where you see the snow.______For good skiing conditions, there should be snow ON / ON TOP OF the mountain. You need snow on the entire mountain if you want to ski down.But, to describe beautiful views in Switzerland, for example, you could say that there is snow ON THE TOPS OF the mountains even when the rest of the mountains are covered with flowers._______Sometimes people use “on top of” and “on the top of” to describe the same thing. “On top of the mountain” is often very similar to “on the top of the mountain”; the listener would understand.However, “AT” the top of something is different. “at” needs “the” before “top of.” The sentence about the stairs needs “at,” not “on.” Therefore, the sentence has to be “She is sitting AT THE top of the stairs.”Rachel