Practice
Across or through: choosing a movement word
You walk across a bridge because you move from one side to the other. You walk through a tunnel because the tunnel surrounds part of your journey. The two words can both describe movement, but they show a different path.
Choose across for movement from one side or edge to another, and through for movement inside, within, or from one end of something to another.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
across and through /əˈkrɔːs/ and /θruː/
The short answer
Use across for a path from one side to another. Use through for a path inside or within something.
We walked across the park and then through the museum entrance.
Why it works: Across shows a route over the open park. Through shows movement within the entrance area.
5 more examples
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Mina cycled across the bridge before work.
Mina moves from one side of the bridge to the other.
Not this:Mina cycled
through the bridgebefore work. What changes: A bridge is usually a surface or route that you cross. Through would suggest movement inside the bridge, which is not the usual meaning. -
The children ran through the long hallway.
The hallway surrounds the children for part of their movement.
Not this:The children ran
across the long hallway. What changes: Across is possible when the focus is one side of the hallway to the other. Through is clearer when they move along its inside length. -
A narrow path leads through the forest.
The path goes inside the forest and continues within it.
Not this:A narrow path leads
across the forest. What changes: Across can describe a route that reaches the far side of the forest. It does not stress the experience of moving among the trees. -
Please carry the boxes across the courtyard.
The courtyard is an open space that the boxes move from one side to another.
Not this:Please carry the boxes
through the courtyard. What changes: Through is less natural for an open courtyard unless the courtyard is treated as part of a longer route. -
Sunlight came through the kitchen window.
The light passes within the opening of the window.
Not this:Sunlight came
across the kitchen window. What changes: Across can describe light moving over a surface, but it does not describe light entering by way of an opening.
Read the full guide
The noun after the word often gives you a useful clue. A road, field, river, or room may have a route across it. A tunnel, forest, door, or crowd can have a route through it. The important question is whether the movement stays inside the place for part of the way.
Use across for side-to-side movement
Across usually shows movement that begins on one side and reaches another side. The route may be over a surface, such as a road, field, river, or bridge.
The delivery driver walked across the parking lot.
The parking lot is an open space. The driver crosses it from one side toward another.
Does the route cross an open space or surface?
Choose across when the main idea is side-to-side movement.
Use through for movement within something
Through shows that the movement happens inside a space, passage, opening, or group. The person or thing enters, stays within the place for part of the route, or passes out the other side.
We drove through the tunnel during the storm.
A tunnel surrounds the vehicle while it moves along the passage.
Is the route inside a place or passage?
Choose through when the movement happens within the thing named.
Notice which part of the route matters
The same location can work with both words when the speaker changes the focus. Across the room means from one side of the room to the other. Through the room means within the room as part of a longer path.
The dog ran across the room to the door.
The sentence names a starting side, an ending side, and a clear destination.
Which part of the route does the sentence want you to notice?
Use across for the two sides. Use through for the inside part of the path.
Use through for openings and groups
Through is common with openings and things that surround or contain movement. It also works when something passes within a group, such as a message moving through several offices.
The train passed through the station without stopping.
The train moves within the station area and continues beyond it.
Does the movement enter and continue within the place?
Use through when the route goes inside, along, and beyond a place or opening.
Check the meaning in a sentence
Do not choose by asking which word sounds longer or more formal. Look at the path. If you can draw a line from one side to another across a space, across is often right. If the line enters a place and continues inside it, through is often right.
She walked through the crowd to reach the exit.
The people form the space around her as she moves toward the exit.
Is the crowd part of the route around the person?
Use through because the movement happens among the people in the crowd.
Before you go
Remember this
Use across for side-to-side movement over a surface or open space. Use through for movement inside a place, opening, group, or passage. Picture the route before you choose the word.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Across or through: choosing a movement word"
What is the main difference between across and through?
Across usually describes a route from one side of a space or surface to another side. Through describes a route that goes inside a place, opening, passage, or group. Picture whether the movement crosses the outside of a space or happens within it.
Mina cycled across the bridge before work.
Can I say across the room and through the room?
Yes, but the focus changes. Across the room usually points to the far side of the room. Through the room presents the room as part of a route that continues within it, perhaps from one doorway to another. The full situation decides which description fits.
Mina cycled through the bridge before work.
Why do we say through a tunnel?
A tunnel surrounds a traveler for part of the journey, so through shows movement inside the passage. Across would be more natural for movement over a surface or from one side of an open space to another.
The children ran through the long hallway.
Can through describe a process or information?
Yes. Through can describe moving within a process, time period, or set of information. For example, a team may work through a list of tasks. The word keeps the idea of continuing within something until the action reaches its end.
The children ran across the long hallway.
Is across always about physical movement?
No. Across can also describe position, direction, or communication that reaches another side, such as looking across a room or sending a message across a network. The shared idea is movement or connection from one side, point, or group to another.
A narrow path leads through the forest.