Deborah Halverson

Author & Editor

  • Home
  • About Deborah
    • Bio
    • Appearances
    • Contact
  • Books
    • Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies
    • Writing New Adult Fiction
    • Honk If You Hate Me
    • Big Mouth
    • Letters to Santa
    • Brave New World
    • Book Club Guides
    • Behind-the-Books Blog Series
  • Editorial Services
  • News
  • Blog
    • Newest Posts
  • Subscribe

Robin Cruise Sets Us Straight: “onto” versus “on to”

September 16, 2013

Robin CruiseIf you get mixed up about when to use “onto” and “on to”, you’re not alone. I received a question about this at DearEditor.com and asked Robin Cruise, freelance editor at Red Pencil Consulting, to field it because she’s so good at explaining grammar stuff in accessible ways. Here’s the question:

Dear Editor…

Which is right?

1) Jane stepped onto the patio.
2) Jane stepped on to the patio.

My net surfing tells me #1 is right, that if a person or thing is “upon” a concrete object, you can use “onto” and reserve “on to” for things non-concrete or metaphorical, like “Please move on to the next topic.” Is there a net site I could use as a reference?

Thanks so much,
All Mixed Up

Click here for Robin’s spunky answer: http://deareditor.com/?p=5552

Robin Cruise has worked in various capacities in trade publishing for more than twenty years. Since launching Red Pencil Consulting in November 2011, she has collaborated directly with authors, illustrators, agents, editors, content developers, publishers, and other individuals/entrepreneurs/businesses. She is a skilled researcher, writer, editor, and project manager who helps create, shape, and deliver high-quality content for readers of all ages, both fiction and nonfiction for adults as well as children. Robin may be contacted directly at rcruise1@gmail.com.

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing Tagged With: onto versus on to, Robin Cruise

WELCOME TO DEBORAH’S BLOG

See what Deborah is up to, or sit a spell and enjoy her tales about the thrills, chills, and spills of being an on-the-go editor and writer.

Categories

  • Adventures in Writing
  • Especially for Teen Readers
  • Events
  • Honk if you…
  • Me and My Big Mouth
  • News
  • The Adventure Called Life
  • Triplets & The Written Word
  • Triplets: The Preschooler Years
  • Where in the World…?
  • Writing New Adult Fiction
  • Writing Youg Adult Fiction For Dummies

From the Blog

Me, Being Brave
I'm most comfortable stepping into the greater world via words on a page. But in these days of...
Read More...

RSS From DearEditor.com

  • Should My Query Letter Reveal the Ending? December 14, 2022
  • Should I Write that Christmas Story? November 22, 2022
  • Unreliable Narrators, Plus “Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies” Giveaway Winner November 14, 2022

Follow Us

Copyright © 2023 · Diligent On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in