{"id":2946,"date":"2013-08-08T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2013-08-08T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=2946"},"modified":"2014-08-06T11:39:51","modified_gmt":"2014-08-06T15:39:51","slug":"onto-vs-on-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/onto-vs-on-to\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cOnto\u201d vs. \u201con to\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Today we are going to take a closer look at how to use the similar sounding and looking words \u201conto\u201d and \u201con to.\u201d Misusing these words by interchanging them, as though they were the same thing, is a common mistake that even native speakers make. But hopefully after reading this post you will always know how to correctly use these words in your writing. So let\u2019s see how \u201conto\u201d and \u201con to\u201d are used differently.<\/p>\n

Onto<\/strong> \u2013 by definition this word means to be in a position \u201con\u201d something, to be on top of, or upon. For example: He hopped onto<\/em> the seat of his bike and rode away. Onto can also mean \u2018fully aware of\u2019 or \u2018informed about.\u2019 For example: The police were onto<\/em> what the criminals planned to do next.<\/p>\n

On to<\/strong> \u2013 the use of on to is the connection of the adverb \u201con\u201d and the proposition \u201cto\u201d and belongs to a verbal phrase. For example: He held on to<\/em> the handlebars of his bike as he rode.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Manual of Style<\/em>, which is a manual for how to properly write in English, gives the following hint to help you decide if you should use \u201conto\u201d or \u201con to\u201d if you are still stuck. Mentally say \u201cup\u201d before \u201con\u201d and if the sentence still makes sense, then \u201conto\u201d is probably the right choice. For example: He hopped (up) onto the seat of his bike and rode away \u2013 that works. He held (up) on to the handlebars of his bike as he rode \u2013 that doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

Now, here is your chance to figure out which to use, \u201con to\u201d or \u201conto.\u201d Try this exercise to see how you do using the new information you learned above. Then scroll down to the answers below. Good luck!<\/p>\n

Practice exercise:\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. The boy climbed (on to \/ onto) the roof.<\/p>\n

2. Perry invited Cynthia to step (on to \/ onto) the dance floor for a dance.<\/p>\n

3. I held (on to \/ onto) the kite string with all my might.<\/p>\n

4. She held (on to \/ onto) her child\u2019s hand in the crowd.<\/p>\n

5. We canceled Jess\u2019s surprise party when we realized she was (on to \/ onto) our plan.<\/p>\n

6. After you log (on to \/ onto) the Internet will you check something for me?<\/p>\n

7. Jim finished his math homework and moved (on to \/ onto) doing his science homework.<\/p>\n

8. The children jumped (on to \/ onto) the bed to play as soon as their mother wasn\u2019t looking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Answers:<\/strong>
\n1. onto
\n2. onto
\n3. on to
\n4. on to
\n5.onto
\n6. on to
\n7. on to
\n8. onto<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Today we are going to take a closer look at how to use the similar sounding and looking words \u201conto\u201d and \u201con to.\u201d Misusing these words by interchanging them, as though they were the same thing, is a common mistake that even native speakers make. But hopefully after reading this post you will always…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":2948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[134956],"tags":[273963,273964],"class_list":["post-2946","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-grammar","tag-on-to","tag-onto"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2946"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4303,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2946\/revisions\/4303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}