There is a difference between ONTO and ON TO.

Those of you who read this blog regularly have seen the two entries about IN and INTO. Today's newspaper carries a grammar glitch with ON TO and ONTO, which involves a similar point. Here is the sentence I read with my morning tea:

He believed in hard work and wanted to pass that belief onto his children, his son recalled.

It sounds as if this good man wanted to put his belief in a bowl, stand on a stool, and pour it down ONTO the heads of his children, which is probably not what the reporter meant. Instead, the man wanted to pass his belief in hard work ON (into the future) and to do that by giving it TO his children. In this sentence, ON and TO should be separate because their meanings are separate. The sentence should read as follows:

He believed in hard work and wanted to pass that belief on to his children, his son recalled.

For more information on this preposition concept, click (in the index at the right) on the entry for INTO/IN TO.