Practice
Onto or into: what's the difference?
A child can climb onto a chair, but put a toy into a box. Both words show movement, yet the destination changes the word you need.
Choose onto for movement to a surface and into for movement to the inside of a place, object, or space.
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
onto and into /ˈɑntu/ and /ˈɪntu/
The short answer
Choose onto for a destination with a surface, such as a table, wall, or roof. Choose into for a destination with an inside, such as a room, bag, or box.
Mina placed her keys onto the table, then put her phone into her bag.
Why it works: The keys end on the table's surface. The phone ends inside the bag.
5 more examples
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The cat jumped onto the windowsill.
The cat moves to a surface and ends on top of it.
Not this:The cat jumped
into the open window. What changes: Here, the cat crosses the window and moves inside the room. -
Pour the flour into the bowl.
The flour ends inside the bowl.
Not this:Put the spoon
onto the bowl's rim. What changes: The spoon rests on a surface, not inside the bowl. -
The actor walked onto the stage.
A stage is treated as a surface that the actor can stand on.
Not this:The actor walked
into the dressing room. What changes: A dressing room has an inside, so into is the natural choice. -
Please move the files into the blue folder.
The files go inside the folder.
Not this:Please place the label
onto the blue folder. What changes: The label is attached to the folder's outer surface. -
After this topic, we will move onto the next question.
Onto can also show a change to the next item in a sequence.
Not this:The ice
changed intowater. What changes: Into can describe a change from one thing or state to another.
Read the full guide
Look at the final position. If you can picture the thing resting on a surface, use onto. If it crosses a boundary and ends within something, use into.
Choose onto for a surface
Use onto when an action ends on a surface. The surface may be flat, vertical, high, or low. A book can go onto a desk, a sticker can go onto a suitcase, and a climber can go onto a roof.
Ravi put his laptop onto the desk.
The laptop ends on the desk's surface.
Choose the word: The child climbed ___ the wall.
Use onto. The child moves to the wall's surface.
Choose into for an inside space
Use into when someone or something moves from outside to inside. The destination can be a container, a building, a room, a pocket, or another space with an interior.
Luis dropped the receipt into his pocket.
The receipt ends inside the pocket.
Choose the word: We walked ___ the library before it started to rain.
Use into. The group moves from outside the library to inside it.
Check the final position
The same object can take either word when the final position changes. A coin can land onto a table or fall into a drawer. The verb may stay similar, but the destination tells you which preposition fits.
She threw the ball onto the grass.
The ball ends on the grass, so the destination is a surface.
A letter passes through the opening of a mailbox. Does it go onto the mailbox or into the mailbox?
It goes into the mailbox because it ends inside it.
Use common vehicle phrases
Some travel phrases use a conventional pattern. Say get on a bus, train, plane, or bicycle. Say get into a car, taxi, or small boat. These phrases do not always match a simple surface picture, so learn them as fixed combinations.
We got on the bus near the station.
The usual phrase is get on the bus, not get onto the bus, although onto can appear in a longer description of movement.
Which is the usual phrase for a taxi: get on or get into?
Use get into a taxi. A taxi is treated as a small enclosed vehicle.
Notice figurative uses
Both words also appear outside physical movement. Move onto the next task means continue to the next task. Turn one thing into another means change it. These uses keep the basic idea of a destination or a change, but the destination is an idea rather than a place.
After the introduction, the teacher moved onto the main question.
The lesson changes from one topic to the next.
Choose the word: The designer turned a rough sketch ___ a finished poster.
Use into. The sketch changes into a different thing.
Before you go
Remember this
Use onto when movement ends on a surface. Use into when movement ends inside something. Check the destination and picture the final position before you choose.
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 "Onto or into: what's the difference?"
What is the main difference between onto and into?
Onto describes movement to a surface. Into describes movement from outside to inside. Compare putting a cup onto a table with putting a cup into a cupboard. The final position decides the word.
The cat jumped onto the windowsill.
Can I use onto with a wall?
Yes. A wall is a surface, even though it is vertical. You can hang a picture onto a wall or paint a message onto a wall. Use into only if something moves through the wall and ends inside another space.
The cat jumped into the open window.
Why do we say get on a bus but get into a car?
English commonly uses get on with buses, trains, planes, and bicycles, and get into with cars, taxis, and small boats. These are established combinations, so it is useful to learn them as phrases.
Pour the flour into the bowl.
Is onto one word or two words?
Write onto as one word when it means movement to a surface, as in The child climbed onto the chair. Write on to when on belongs with a verb, as in We held on to the rail. The words have different jobs in those sentences.
Put the spoon onto the bowl's rim.
Can into describe a change instead of movement?
Yes. Into can show that one thing changes to become another, as in The leaves turned into compost. It can also appear in phrases such as translate a message into English. In these cases, there is no physical container.
The actor walked onto the stage.