Editor's Corner

Good afternoon! Today we’re going to cover one of the questions I’ve received several times in the last month.

Dear Editrix,

Sometimes I get a little confused with the wide selection of prepositions available in English. When I am in the back yard, should I jump on to the trampoline, or should I jump onto the trampoline?

Sincerely,

Trampoline Tilly

Dear Tilly,

Here are some brief rules and examples for “on to” and “onto” from grammarbook.com. If you want even more on the subject (and pictures) try the Purdue OWL (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/594/02/).

On To vs. Onto

Rule 1: In general, use onto as one word to mean on top of, to a position on, upon. Use onto if you can use up before on.

Examples:
He climbed (up) onto the roof.
Let’s step onto the dance floor.
She held on to her child in the crowd.
I’m going to log on to the computer.

Rule 2: Use onto when you mean fully aware of; informed about.

Example: We canceled Julia’s surprise party when we realized she was onto our plan.

And this, from Kevin Campion, is a new word from the Milwaukee airport. It seems they have a good sense of humor.

http://consumerist.com/2008/11/26/all-airports-should-have-a-recombobulation-area-like-the-one-in-milwaukee/

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