Word Choice Onto vs. On To - Proofread My Paper

Word Choice Onto vs. On To - Proofread My Paper Word Choice: Onto vs. On To The author Kingsley Amis once said,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I have found by experience that no one persistently using ‘onto’ writes anything much worth reading.† But Amis was also a serial adulterer and a drunk, so, in some regards, he might not be a great example to follow. â€Å"Onto† is a common term in most forms of writing these days. But there are occasions when you should still keep â€Å"on† and â€Å"to† separate. To help you understand when this is necessary, in this blogpost we explain the difference between â€Å"onto† and â€Å"on to.† Onto (To Position on a Surface) Although originally written as two words, â€Å"onto† is now a one-word preposition used to mean â€Å"position on top of† something. As such, we might say: I climbed onto the wall to get a better view. Here, the key factor is that something is on top of something else. Climbing onto walls can end badly if you are a fictional egg. It can also be used metaphorically to describe understanding something (i.e., being â€Å"on top of† a problem): When she saw how to correct the error, she was onto it in a flash. The important thing to remember about â€Å"onto,† though, is that it generally involves something being positioned on top of something else. On To (Part of a Verb Phrase) â€Å"On† and â€Å"to† should be kept separate when the â€Å"on† is part of a verb phrase. Take the following, for example: Once you finish reading Treasure Island, you can move on to Of Mice and Men. Here, â€Å"on† is part of the verb phrase â€Å"move on,† meaning â€Å"proceed onward,† and followed by the preposition â€Å"to.† If we used â€Å"onto,† it would imply climbing on top of a John Steinbeck novel! And thats not how to treat the works of respected authors. Onto or On To? When choosing between â€Å"onto† and â€Å"on to,† the important thing is the context. If the â€Å"on† belongs to a verb phrase, the terms should be separate. If you’re describing something as being positioned on top of something else, however, â€Å"onto† is acceptable. Remember: Onto = Preposition meaning â€Å"on top of† On to = Part of a verb phrase