The Way There
To the shop, into the room, across the street, through the tunnel. Movement prepositions draw the path — from where it starts to where it ends.
What are Movement Prepositions?
The path, in words
Place prepositions say where something is; movement prepositions say where something is going. Every one of them draws a path.
to — the destination
the most common path wordWe walked to the park
into — inside, with motion
from outside to insideShe ran into the house
onto — on top, with motion
from below to the surfaceThe cat jumped onto the sofa
across & through
across = over the surface, through = insideacross the street · through the tunnel
⚠️ from…to draws the whole journey: from home to work.
Motion Scenes
The arrow tells the story
Watch the arrow: into crosses the edge of the box, out of leaves it, through goes all the way inside and out again.
Common Mistakes
Five traps to escape
The classic slips: to before home, into where in belongs, and mixing up on and into for vehicles. Here is the way out.
I went to home.
I went home.
💡 Home takes no to — it is already a direction.
We walked through the street to the other side.
We walked across the street to the other side.
💡 Across = over the surface to the other side; through = inside: through the tunnel.
He got on the car.
He got into the car.
💡 Small vehicles: climb into the car.
We drove to the tunnel.
We drove through the tunnel.
💡 Inside and out again → through.
The ball fell in the lake.
The ball fell into the lake.
💡 Motion towards inside → into.
Quick Quiz
Test what you just learned
Three minutes, five questions — check what stuck. No essay questions, we promise.
Every morning I go ___ school.
💡 Extra info2 sections
from…to
The whole journey in two words
From gives the starting point, to gives the destination. Together they draw the full line — for travel, time, and ideas.
Verbs That Carry to
Some verbs bring their own to
Certain verbs already move towards something, so to arrives naturally with them. And then home breaks the rule — no to, ever.
go, walk, run, drive, fly + to
movement verbs love their to
We drove to the beach.
come + to
come to the party, come to class
Come to my place!
home — no to
the only direction word without it
I went home. · She ran home.
here / there — no to
same rule as home
Come here. · Go there.
⚠️ To has a twin problem: verbs take it, but home, here, and there refuse it.