The prepositions into and onto can be confusing. After all, you use the prepositions in and to, so why wouldn’t you keep the space between them and say, “I walked in to the store”?

Part of the answer is that you generally don’t want to stack prepositions together. If you write I walked in to the store, then you have put two prepositions back-to-back. That’s just weird. So, with a little Wonder Twins power, in and to have joined together to form a new and different preposition: into (same story with onto).

When you use them as prepositions, into and onto are always written as one word.

But, it’s a different story when you throw in some adverb action. Remember that prepositions can be defined in a basic way as words that describe position: On, near, over, under, beside, in, out. Adverbs are words that describe action: I ran quickly. She hit hard. So there is a difference between I turn in (in is an adverb describing the action of the verb turn), and I turn into (into is a preposition describing a new state of being resulting from the turn).

So, if I turn into a police officer, I mean that I went to police academy and passed the test and was hired by the police department. But, if I am turned in to the police, I mean that somebody ratted me out, and you better be looking over your shoulder, because I know who you are.

Why did I put a space between in and to when I wrote turned in to the police? Because in that case, in is being used as an adverb, and to is the preposition. An easy way to keep all this straight in your mind is to think of the adverb in as going with the verb: I have been turned in to a police officer vs. I have turned into a police officer.

Here is a site that might be helpful: Into/Onto
 

I’ll give you the simple key to knowing which one to use; then I’ll give a little more information to help you understand them better.

Simple Key: Like doesn’t use a verb, but as does.

Here is what I mean:

He sings like Sinatra. (This is a direct comparison with no verb.)

He hits hard, as a linebacker should. (This sentence uses a verb in the clause that’s being compared: should.)

What’s the difference between like and as? Like is a preposition, but as is a conjunction. That’s why when there is a clause that contains a subject and a verb, you need a conjunction, not just a preposition.

Usually, it’s as clear as that. There is a sticky situation, though. Would it be It’s like taking candy from a baby, or It’s as taking candy from a baby?

Bill Walsh comments on this in “Lapsing into a Comma”:

I’ll do my best to explain this one without too much English-teacher jargon. Like works just fine if you’re making a direct comparison:  I’m just like Bjorn Borg. Or My forehand is like Borg’s. Or even It’s like taking candy from a baby (taking candy from a baby is a phrase that acts as an object—a noun of sorts). But once the object of the comparison acquires its own verb, as is needed: I hit my forehand as Borg does.

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