I, the all-powerful, all-knowing Word Guy, have a confession: I'm sometimes not sure whether to use "onto" or "on to."

I know, I know. I should have mastered this skill in second grade, along with how to use "in" and "into," how to choose between "beside" and "besides" and how to keep milk from coming out of my nose while laughing. But I didn't.

OK, I'll try, once again, to get this straight.

"Onto" is a preposition; it can usually be replaced by either "on" or "to," e.g., Felicia stepped onto the ice; Felix stepped onto the stage. "Onto" is also used to mean "aware of," e.g., Sheila quickly caught onto Dexter's scheme.

The two-word phrase "on to" consists of an adverb ("on") and a preposition ("to"). For instance, in the sentence, "We drove on to Watertown," "on" is an adverb modifying "drove," and "to" is a preposition whose object is "Watertown." (Hmmm ... "Object: Watertown." Sounds like a good title for an action movie.)

Misuses of "onto" and "on to" can cause confusion. "I walked onto the football field," for instance, means something very different from "I walked on to the football field."

In the first case, you might be standing on the goal line (touchdown!); in the second, you haven't yet reached your goal — the field (field goal!).

Let's punt and move on to a quiz. Can you make the correct choice in these sentences?:

1) Clarence placed the pumpkin (onto, on to) the table.

2) Sylvia collapsed (onto, on to) the bed.

3) The river flowed (onto, on to) the sea.

4) Allie downloaded the data (onto, on to) her hard drive.

5) The team struggled (onto, on to) victory.

6) Cal ran (onto, on to) the school grounds.

7) The cat jumped (onto, on to) the table.

8) Tom was (onto, on to) the telemarketers' scam.

9) My teacher moved (onto, on to) the next topic.

10) My teacher moved (onto, on to) my street.

Answers:

1) onto; 2) onto; 3) on to; 4) onto; 5) on to; 6) If Cal set foot on the school grounds, it's "onto," but if he ran toward them, it's "on to." 7) If the cat jumped up on the table, it's "onto," but if the cat had been jumping along from one spot to another and then jumped on the table, it's "on to." 8) onto; 9) on to; 10) onto — but if the teacher had been walking on one street for a while and then "moved on" to my street, it would be "on to."

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: qimono at Pixabay