Penetrating to

Question

"Light in Scotland has a quality I have not met elsewhere. It is luminous without being fierce, penetrating to immense distances with an effortless intensity. " From The Living Mountain By Nan Shepherd
I think"penetrate" means going into/through. Why does the writer add "to" here? To is usually followed by a place/a destination. But here it is followed by a distance.

Nel0506 · Accepted Answer

See example 1 of the intransitive form (and the example sentences) at Merriam Webster's dictionary here:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penetrate

Nel0506 · Answer

Hi book mango, I didn't understand the question about fish and example 1 and "through." You can say penetrate through, I imagine. It's like to bore a hole into metal, or bore a hole through a metal post, etc.

book mango 418I think"penetrate" means going into/through. It does. It's also part of the whole idea of this particular verb.

Why does the writer add "to" here? e.g., be able to/required to/listen to, etc. I think it's just this way, usually, based on the dictionary entry. Always check them. Also penetrate + ing = a progressive tense, so there is activity and movement to somewhere.

To is usually followed by a place/a destination. d1 = r x t1, d2 = r x t2... distance(s) can be a measure and a place.

But here it is followed by a distance. To me it just seems like poetic language. We see something "off in the distance." => far away; To go the distance = succeed by following through, etc.

Penetrating to

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