Most of the time I get confused between the use of on, upon and at because...

Question

Most of the time I get confused between the use of on, upon and at because I can't differentiate between their usage. Please brief me on their proper usage so next time I don't have difficulty to choose between them.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Jackson:
check out www.dictionary.com. It gives a lot of examples. the usage notes for "on" also describe the differences between on and onto.
Usage Note: To indicate motion toward a position, both on and onto can be used: The cat jumped on the table. The cat jumped onto the table. Onto is more specific, however, in indicating that the motion was initiated from an outside point. He wandered onto the battlefield means that he began his wandering at some point off the battlefield. He wandered on the battlefield may mean that his wandering began on the battlefield. · In constructions where on is an adverb attached to a verb, it should not be joined with to to form the single word onto: move on to (not onto) new subjects; hold on to (not onto) our gains. · In their uses to indicate spatial relations, on and upon are often interchangeable: It was resting on (or upon) two supports. We saw a finch light on (or upon) a bough. To indicate a relation between two things, however, instead of between an action and an end point, upon cannot always be used: Hand me the book on (not upon) the table. It was the only town on (not upon) the main line. Similarly, upon cannot always be used in place of on when the relation is not spatial: He wrote a book on (not upon) alchemy. She will be here on (not upon) Tuesday.

If you have trouble with one sentence in particular, post it and we can help you chose.

Avangi · Answer

Jackson6612 Please brief me on their proper usage

Hi,

Sadly, "brief" is not the word. Even the dictionary gives pages.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Hi Jackson:
Check this out!!!

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/interact/eslprep2EX1.html

Jackson6612 · Answer

Avangi
Jackson6612 Please brief me on their proper usage
Hi,

Sadly, "brief" is not the word. Even the dictionary gives pages.

I think I don't really understand what you are saying.

³brief
2c: to give essential information to
[M-W's Col. Dic.]

PS: I get it. Perhaps you were saying brief a hard thing to do here because even the dictionary gives pages to explain the proper usage.

CalifJim · Answer

Jackson6612on, upon and at

upon is the least used of the three. It normally occurs only in fixed idioms and expressions, and when both on and upon are possible, upon may sound a little more old-fashioned. (I'm relying [on / upon] you to finish the job. It depends [on / upon] who wants the information.)

These have to be memorized as you encounter them.
____
The literal meanings of the other two are as follows:
on is used in cases of surfaces in physical contact: The book is on the table. (The bottom of the book and the top of the table are in contact.)
at is used in cases of locating a person or thing in a less definite way (Henry is at the bank), sometimes only in terms of the activity they are engaged in (Henry is at work).
But there are so many non-literal usages that it is impossible to list and explain them all within a few lines of a forum post.
CJ

Avangi · Answer

Jackson6612 PS: I get it. Perhaps you were saying brief a hard thing to do here because even the dictionary gives pages to explain the proper usage.

Right. I was trying to make a joke (sort of a pun on the two meanings - the verb and the adjective) - A.

Jackson6612 · Answer

check out www.dictionary.com. It gives a lot of examples. the usage notes for "on" also describe the differences between on and onto.
Usage Note: To indicate motion toward a position, both on and onto can be used: The cat jumped on the table. The cat jumped onto the table. Onto is more specific, however, in indicating that the motion was initiated from an outside point. He wandered onto the battlefield means that he began his wandering at some point off the battlefield. He wandered on the battlefield may mean that his wandering began on the battlefield. · In constructions where on is an adverb attached to a verb, it should not be joined with to to form the single word onto: move on to (not onto) new subjects; hold on to (not onto) our gains. · In their uses to indicate spatial relations, on and upon are often interchangeable: It was resting on (or upon) two supports. We saw a finch (=bird) light (=rest) on (or upon) a bough (=tree branch). To indicate a relation between two things, however, instead of between an action and an end point, upon cannot always be used: Hand me the book on (not upon) the table. It was the only town on (not upon) the main line. Similarly, upon cannot always be used in place of on when the relation is not spatial: He wrote a book on (not upon) alchemy. She will be here on (not upon) Tuesday.
Questions:
1: Can't check simply be used instead of check out?
2: He wandered onto the battlefield mean that he was wandering about and suddenly he entered a ground which had been declared a battlefield. Am I correct? But He wandered on the battlefield means that he kept on wandering about instead of fighting in the battlefield. Am I correct?
3: In my view in move on to new subjects on is a preposition, a functional word, not an adverb. I know to is also a preposition and this makes two prepositions standing side by side. I don't know if it is possible to use two prepositions next to each other. How can on be an adverb? Please, provide me some definition from M-W's dictionary, if you can.
4: What is the purpose of saying instead of between an action and an end point?

Most of the time I get confused between the use of on, upon and at because...

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