This is an All Ears English podcast episode 1951.
Onto or into confusing English prepositions explained.
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Let's tackle a grammar question today.
How do you know when to use on or onto?
What about in or into?
Find out today with role plays, examples, and stories with Lindsay and Aubrey.
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Hello, aubrey.
How's it going today?
I'm excellent.
How are you, lindsay?
Good to see you on the podcast, and today's episode is on video.
Guys go check out our youtube channel if you're not a subscriber over there.
Aubrey, i have a question for you to start off today.
All right, let's hear it.
So what's something new that you're into lately?
What are you getting?
What are you getting into these days?
What's something new?
Okay, I got really into figuring out how to self publish.
This has become a lot easier lately, right?
Companies like Amazon are making it so that you, if you write a book, you can skip this whole publishing step of finding an agent, finding a publisher if you either don't want it, because that can be such a long, difficult process.
Sometimes you want to skip it.
And I just wrote this little book with game instructions.
People are always asking me, remind me how to play that game.
So I wrote the instructions for a bunch of games and I did not want to go through the hassle and the headache of finding an agent and getting it published in the sort of the traditional route.
So I looked into how to self-publish and I've been really into figuring out all the ins and outs of that and getting my book yeah, available.
It's been fun.
That is so cool, Aubrey.
You are like the game authority.
Right.
And this is all just game knowledge that you've had in your head and you've put it into a book, and now it's going to be out in the world for anyone to get it.
I love it.
How does it feel to kind of complete a project like that?
It's amazing, right?
It really does.
It really does feel good because you guys may know this about me.
I've probably shared about this before, but I often will start projects, get really excited about it and then get busy, get a little less excited.
It's easy to just put it on the back burner.
It's like an idiom we say for like just ignoring it for a while and not proactively.
And so it does feel really good to complete a task.
I'm guessing our listeners feel that too.
All of us have had that feeling of like finally actually completing something.
It feels so good.
Such a feeling of accomplishment, love it that you throw through in that uh bonus for our listeners.
Put it on the back burner.
What does that mean?
One more time aubrey, just so our listeners know.
Before we get into today's topic, imagine the visual of a stovetop where you have the four sort of circles on a stovetop are the burners, so we will say them, And the things that are more sort of priority or important are on those front burners.
And then maybe if something can be just simmering, right, then you put it on a back burner.
And we use that idiomatically to talk about the priorities of other tasks, things that we're doing.
We use this a ton in business English too, to talk about a project that we're going to give less importance.
We're going to put it on the back burner.
I love it.
I love it.
Let's get into today's topic then, Aubrey.
What are we talking about?
At the beginning of the episode, I asked you, what's something new that you're into these days?
So it seems like we're working on this word into or give us a little more information about today.
Yeah, exactly right.
We use that word into to talk about what we're interested in, something that we maybe are a little bit fascinated by, something new, but we also use it just to talk about the location of something, something that's moving into something else.
And this can be so confusing for people learning a language to know whether to use in or into, and on or onto.
We received a question about this and we want to really dive into this to make sure you guys are using the right one, because
This is a mistake that does sound strange to native speakers.
They always know which one to use and there's always one that sounds right right, okay.
So today we're going to help our listeners understand whether to say in or into or on or onto is that right?
Just so i understand exactly what we're going to get our listeners today.
Perfect right, exactly.
Guys, we're doing kind of the little deep dots, sort of a little bit of grammar, lots of example sentences, so you'll have a really good idea of why, which one to use and why.
I love it.
I love it that we're we're delving in more to grammar these days on all our english, because i think our listeners want this and you guys are ready for this.
You know what i mean.
To really maximize that level aubrey, for our listeners to move to that 99 fluency, we need these final grammar pieces.
So where do we start today?
Exactly right.
So many of the questions we get are about these sort of finite grammar points.
So just to review, we received this question from a listener Arlene, and in episode 1921 we answered the first part of her question about the prepositions on in and at for place.
So go back and check that one out if you missed it.
So useful, so helpful.
But she also asked about onto and into and we promised that in an upcoming episode we would dive into those because it's a sort of separate ball game, right?
So we're doing that today.
We're getting into onto and into how you use them.
Examples to straighten this all out On to and into.
So we keep our promises to our listeners.
Guys, send us your questions.
Send your question to Aubrey at AllEarsEnglish.com.
Aubrey, you're still listening questions, right?
Why not?
Why not?
Send your questions in and let us know what you want to learn about on this podcast especially.
You know Aubrey, we like specific questions, don't we?
Yes, exactly.
Right.
In fact, this question was so great from Arlene because she's asking about these specific things.
Sometimes we do have to break it into two episodes because there's so much there when you really get into the little finite details.
But the more specific the better, so that we get your examples of where you've heard something or been confused by something that makes such an interesting, rich episode.
You got it.
All right, let's get into it.
Where do we start today?
Guide us through this Aubrey.
What should we do?
So let's first just kind of clarify when it comes to onto and into these are prepositions of action.
Something happens right, as opposed to with on and in.
The action has already happened and we're just describing location right okay, so we'll separate these out.
We'll first talk about into and onto and we'll give you different examples of why you would need to use into instead of in.
Okay, but the key idea here i love that we're starting right there it's that Onto and into.
When we add that to, it's about action, movement.
Something is moving from one place to the next.
Is that right?
Is that the most important thing to know right now?
Love it.
Exactly, right?
And there are we hear mistakes about these with these all the time where a language learner will have a tendency to maybe just use in all the time because they're not sure when to use into.
It's a very common mistake.
So we're going to share details to really clarify this.
So let's first talk about into, right?
This preposition into.
It's used to describe movement or action that results in something being enclosed or surrounded by something else.
Right, okay.
So let's get into some examples to like really clarify what does that mean?
Yeah, okay.
So, for example, i jumped into the pool right, and i know you have a pool at your house right aubry, so your kids are always at the pool.
You guys are always jumping into the pool in the summertime.
Arizona weather.
Many Arizonan homes almost have to have a pool because it's just so hot all summer long.
It's almost a given.
So lots and lots of homes have pools.
I know elsewhere in the world that's not the case.
I grew up in Idaho.
Nobody had a swimming pool.
But here we often do, yes.
Sure.
It's just so hot.
So when you go into a pool, you're enclosed by that pool.
So that follows that rule, doesn't it right?
So there's an action of jumping into the pool and then being enclosed by it, and the mistake we'll often hear is someone say i jumped in the pool.
Now this has a different meaning, Right?
This would mean that you're already in the pool and you start jumping.
Right.
I jumped in the pool.
I'm already there.
Right.
Into is the action of getting inside the pool.
But do you think that native speakers still just make that mistake?
And they, you know, they know the difference, but they still say it.
It's definitely a geographic, like I think in some...
You'll hear this maybe more often.
But in some regions where it's very not common to make this mistake, it does sound a little glaring.
So as always, guys, connection, right?
It's all about the connection.
Connection.
Not perfection.
Before worrying about perfection, right?
You guys hear that from us a lot.
And this is the case here as well.
Do not let this keep you from having a fun conversation about going swimming.
But it's good to know, like, why?
Why do?
There's a reason Arlene sent this question.
Why do we choose one over the other?
It's good to know, it's a good point.
I mean, if you say i jumped in the pool, that means you're already in the pool and you're jumping up and down in the water, right?
So it actually is a different meaning.
So that's exactly.
There can be.
It can cause confusion right, if we use the wrong one.
We might.
Maybe they'll be able to figure it out from context.
If they're there, they know what's happening, but if not, there could be confusion.
Yes, i love it.
Okay, what else do we do?
We have any other examples here for into.
Let's do a couple more, right?
So, for example, he fell into bed.
I love this expression.
If we are super tired, at the end of the day we won't necessarily say like i'm gonna go get into bed, we'll.
We might say i fell into bed, meaning oh, i was exhausted, i was so tired that i just fell right into bed right.
And then if we were just to play around with the other way, if we said fell in bed, that wouldn't make a ton of sense.
Or it might mean like i'm already in my bed and i fell out of my bedroom.
It's weird.
It's weird, it just doesn't quite work.
And say it that way because we use into to describe that action of getting into bed.
I love it.
And same with just at night, you're like, I'm going to go get into bed.
You need that in two for the action of getting into bed.
It will sound really strange or wrong to a lot of native speakers if you just said I'm going to get in bed.
Yeah, that's pretty clear.
I hope that that's clear for our listeners.
You know guys, send us your follow-up questions if that piece is not clear.
But I think it's all about entering an enclosed space.
It's all about action, entrance into something.
Right.
And one more example that I feel like really clarifies this.
If you are talking about entering a room, you would say like she walked into the office.
If you say she walked in the office, that very much means you're already there.
And then you start walking around.
Maybe you're talking on the phone and you're walking in the office.
Right.
Right.
But we would say into if you're outside and then the action of entering a space.
She walked into the office.
And again, you know, I will say, excuse me, I'm getting over a cold.
Yeah, that I will sometimes say I walked in the office.
Right.
But you know that, you know.
Technically it does mean you're already in the office and you're walking around.
Right.
Doesn't technically mean entering the office.
So on my side of the country or part of the I don't know native speaking world, I will make that mistake.
And I don't really think about it.
But if we want to be totally grammatically precise, guys use the into when you're talking about entering a space.
Yeah, to avoid confusion.
I think that's really good.
To point out though Lindsay, that you will hear native speakers use both sometimes.
And maybe there's confusion or not, we can figure it out from context.
But because of that, you should not be stressed about making mistakes with this.
It's good to know why we would choose one or the other.
But definitely don't stress about this.
Definitely have the conversation without thinking, oh, no, which one should I say?
Right.
I mean never.
Let you know that perfection come in the way of connection, as we always say on this show.
Right.
Don't get paralyzed trying to think, is it too?
Is it into?
Is it in?
No.
Connect.
Make eye contact.
Build the relationship with the person you're talking to.
OK.
Yes.
Good.
What else, Aubrey?
All right, let's dive into onto.
So the preposition onto.
Similarly, it's used to express that movement of something from one position to another right.
So for example, imagine someone is about to perform on a stage.
We would say she walked onto the stage.
She's not there yet.
It's the action of walking onto the stage.
And then if we say she walked on the stage, we're imagining she's already there.
Now she's walking around as part of her role.
It's the action of changing location, changing position. entering a space action.
I love it.
Or he climbed onto the roof, meaning he was on the ladder, got onto, entered the roof, right?
Exactly, right?
And if we were going to talk about an action you take when you're already on the roof, we might say he walked on the roof, right.
We wouldn't really say he climbed on the roof, unless you have to like, climb even higher somehow, like there are multiple stories right, because that means you're changing positions.
It's so crazy.
Sometimes when I'm walking around my city, I'll see construction people up there on the roof and I think, oh my God, that looks terrifying.
I would never.
I'm a hard pass for getting up on any hard pass.
No, thank you.
Okay, I love this third example.
I feel like this clarifies it the most to talk about getting onto a bed or like jumping on a bed, right.
So maybe the cat jumped onto the bed.
That's very clearly like it was on the floor.
It wasn't on the bed.
It jumped onto the bed.
It changed location.
But if you say the cat jumped on the bed, that's a very different meaning.
It's already on the bed and it's starting to jump on the bed.
We're worried about it cutting up the blanket, right?
So you can see how it does change the meaning.
Sometimes yeah, i love it, it does change the meaning.
And again, i think i break these rules all the time, but we know, we know what, what is the true rule and what it actually means.
Right, it's okay to break the rules if you know you're breaking it and you know that people are understanding what you're saying.
Guys yes exactly awesome okay, All right Aubrey, should we make this really clear in a role play for our listeners?
Yes, let's do it.
We'll do a role play.
You and I are co-workers at a bakery in this role play.
I would love that.
I would love for you and I to work at a bakery together.
I would just eat everything.
True, I would too.
We wouldn't be able to resist all of the pastries.
Nothing would be available for sale.
We would go in at 3 a.m., start baking and then eat everything.
And then 5 a.m. it opens.
There's nothing to sell.
Right.
Like we were testing everything.
Here we go.
Can you put all those scones into the oven?
Absolutely.
Someone just came into the kitchen.
So let me see what they need and then I'll get on that.
Perfect.
I think it's Jane.
She said she saw a rat climbing onto the roof this morning.
Oh, that's not good.
You don't want a rat.
No business wants rats.
No, no, no, no, no.
Depending on where the business, it's just so common in New York City.
I think they're just rats are everywhere.
It's just comes with the territory.
I wonder why it is that whenever I think about rats, the first thing I think of is New York City.
It's so sad.
Did you see that?
I would see them in New York.
So I definitely assume.
But honestly, we have roof rats here in Arizona.
They like live in people's roofs.
And so we have traps in the backyard and we'll catch them sometimes.
So it's certainly not just an inner city thing.
Like, here we are in the suburbs and there are definitely there are a few like wild cats, feral cats that everyone just lets roam the neighborhood because it keeps the Oh, you need the cats.
Well, I know in New York they had a real problem with the, with the pandemic, with the outdoor dining.
Rats started to really take over.
And I think the new mayor is declaring war on the rats and trying to do something about it.
But I think the rat situation has gotten even worse in New York.
Yeah, I can see that.
Nobody wants that.
No one wants to see a rat prancing around while they're eating at an outdoor like a fancy outdoor patio.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Oh my gosh.
I hope they get that under control for sure.
Um okay, let's break it down.
Aubrey, what did we do first here?
What did i say first?
One you used was saying you know, can you put those scones into the oven right?
I think this is the example where you're saying i would potentially say or hear can you put those scones in the oven?
Sure, right?
We Even though grammatically we're thinking okay into is changing position from one location to another.
You will hear natives say can you put that in the oven?
And it depends sort of on where they're from, how off that sounds to someone.
Right, and the verb too, because put is just naturally an entering verb.
It's an action verb.
Right, good point.
When you already have put.
We kind of know that you're transferring locations you almost don't need into.
Exactly.
So we have a little bit of flexibility there, guys.
And then you said, absolutely.
Someone just came into the kitchen.
So let me see what they need.
And then I'll get on that.
So someone just came into the kitchen, meaning they entered the kitchen.
Right, Aubrey?
I don't know.
It's something about that entering a space and a closed space like that.
It definitely sounds more correct to me to hear into, came into the kitchen.
I like it.
Well, let's learn it the right way.
Let's learn the right way and do it right.
So good.
Okay, what's the last one then?
And then the last one we said we saw a rat climbing onto the roof.
Yeah, right.
So it's down on the ground and you see it climbing up the wall onto the roof.
So because it's changing position, changing location, we use into or onto.
Exactly.
It's not that it's already there and it's claiming on the roof.
It's moving from being down to being on the roof.
So we're entering, we're changing location.
So that's the key.
So there's times when you can break the rule.
I will admit that I break this rule all the time.
But at least we know when we're breaking it, guys.
And we want to make sure we're clear.
It's all about clarity, right?
Yes, absolutely right, and i really love this focus on connection, not perfection here, and this i think it's so smart to highlight, when it really is not going to hurt you, right?
This is the kind of thing that only in the most high stakes you know situations.
Are we really going to need to worry about these finite details?
Every other conversation, do not stress about it.
Just focus on that connection, right?
That's it, Aubrey.
I love it.
So good.
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Aubrey, thanks for hanging with me today.
Awesome.
See you next time.
Talk to you soon.
Bye.
Bye.
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