Where there are differences between UK and US English, it's not often I agree with our American friends on the other side of the pond, special relationship aside, but on this point, I feel they are correct.
The British publisher who very kindly put my novel opening in an anthology, for which I am truly grateful, changed my spelling of "onto" to "on to" and quoted the O.E.D. below. I had to defer to their experience and that of their typesetter, while knowing I was in the right, especially as a novel is informal, not formal writing. The O.E.D. explanation also says that only some i.e. not very many, want to split the word into two.
The British publisher who very kindly put my novel opening in an anthology, for which I am truly grateful, changed my spelling of "onto" to "on to" and quoted the O.E.D. below. I had to defer to their experience and that of their typesetter, while knowing I was in the right, especially as a novel is informal, not formal writing. The O.E.D. explanation also says that only some i.e. not very many, want to split the word into two.
The preposition onto meaning ‘to a position on the surface of’ has been widely written as one word (instead of on to) since the early 18th century, as in the following sentences:
He threw his plate onto the floor. The band climbed onto the stage. Nevertheless, some people still don’t accept it as part of standard British English (unlike into) and it’s best to use the two-word form in formal writing.
In US English, onto is more or less the standard form: it seems likely that this will eventually become the case in British English too.
This is more of a niggle than a world-shattering issue, so I have brought my complaint to my own blog, rather than become a high maintenance client for the publisher. To make things worse, an old friend who has a degree in English from a British university and who has taught English for many years also leans towards splitting one word into two. However, she is also wrong.
Why? Because onto used in the context of, "I emptied my cupboard and shelves onto the bed," does not make sense if you split the word into two. Separating on and to, gives each word separate meanings. If you empty something on the bed, where are you emptying it to? A one word preposition on the other hand, makes total sense of the sentence. Where did you empty the shelves? Onto the bed. Simple. For the record, I decided against using just on because it has a different connotation altogether. If you empty a cupboard on the bed, the implication is that you are holding the cupboard while emptying it, which is an Herculean feat for a seven-year-old.
So there you go. Q.E.D.
Why? Because onto used in the context of, "I emptied my cupboard and shelves onto the bed," does not make sense if you split the word into two. Separating on and to, gives each word separate meanings. If you empty something on the bed, where are you emptying it to? A one word preposition on the other hand, makes total sense of the sentence. Where did you empty the shelves? Onto the bed. Simple. For the record, I decided against using just on because it has a different connotation altogether. If you empty a cupboard on the bed, the implication is that you are holding the cupboard while emptying it, which is an Herculean feat for a seven-year-old.
So there you go. Q.E.D.
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