Penetrate + a preposition?

Question

Hi,Sometimes I've seen the word "penetrate" used with a preposition, e.g., on, to, into etc, and every once in a while with a direct object without using any preposition. I ultimately didn't know how to make use of that word in sentences properly!If possible, please tell me where I should employ a direct object without any preposition for that and when to use any of those prepositions mentioned early on for the word.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

You cannot learn to use any word by means of explanations focused on the word itself. You have to see the word used in various ways, which means you have to read a lot and listen a lot. After you have gained a lot of experience with the word, you may be able to generate a sentence or two using that word.

You can try to speed up this process by using a site like fraze.it or COCA, but ev

You can try to speed up this process by using a site like fraze.it or COCA, but even this won't replace the experience gained by reading and listening.

That said, penetrate is almost always used without a preposition. It indicates a movement all the way through something, a movement that starts at one side and ends at the other side. The basic meaning is "go through".

Water can penetrate these cells by osmosis.
Infrared radiation can penetrate vast clouds of gas and dust in space.
Different wavelengths of light penetrate Earth's atmosphere to different depths.

penetrate into suggests penetration through something, but not completely through a thing, i.e., partial penetration.

Water won't penetrate into your attic and into your living space. 
This process will eliminate fine scratches that don't penetrate into the wood.
The large, heavy root allows the seed to penetrate into the ground when it falls.

penetrate to suggests that the penetration reaches some kind of goal, that it goes as far as this goal.

The bullet chosen must be able to break through bone and penetrate to the vitals.
That means water can penetrate to areas where the toxic cocktail used by fracking is located.
Then turn the oven to roughly 325 F to cook it slowly, letting the heat penetrate to the center.

These are not clearly defined categories. They blend from one to another so that it is sometimes a matter of a writer's preference as to which form to choose.

penetrate on does not ring true to me as a possibility. I suspect that in these cases on begins another phrase, and that it doesn't belong together with penetrate.

Terrorist groups are hard to penetrate | on a consistent basis.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

> These are not clearly defined categories. They blend from one to another so that it is sometimes a matter of a writer's preference as to which form to choose.

Thanks so much for the explanation. You're dead right about the accurate approach of learning by means of lots of reading and listening. I read your remarks on the question, above. In regard with the quoted text, however, and considering the ambiguities belonging to the various forms of using that word, mentioned in your examples, could I use "penetrate" without any preposition, always? That is, would any of the examples above be incorrect if I removed the prepositions used there?

Penetrate + a preposition?

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