What's the difference between these two sentences? Are they correct?
The water drop fell onto my head
The water drop fell on my head
Could anyone explain me difference between these terms?
Answer
In some cases, especially ones involving inanimate objects, the two prepositional phrases are interchangeable; your example sentences are identical in meaning.
In other situations, particularly involving people or animals, there is a difference: onto implies motion from some other position, while on implies only a current location. So "John fell onto the roof" means that John was somewhere above the roof, fell, and landed on the roof. (At this point he could be standing, kneeling, or lying down; it depends on how far he fell and how much control he was able to exercise during the landing.) "John fell on the roof", however, means that John was already on the roof in a standing or walking position, fell, and is now lying down.
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