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Fireflysaigon Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary

Point at or point to

Could anyone help me with the following questions about "POINT AT & POINT TO?
1. The teacher often points to the student and says, "David, would you read the next sentence, please?"
My question is "Can I say "The teacher often points at the students..."?
He pointed ________ the dog when it ran toward them.
A. To B. at C. in D. on
The key is "A. to". However, I think both A & B are correct because we can say "point at/to sth./sb.
Is there any difference between "point at" and "point to" here when we denote both "man" & "animal". Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

He pointed to/at the dog when it ran toward them. The physical action is the same. It's the intent that's different.

  • He pointed to/at the dog when it ran toward them.
  • The physical action is the same.
  • It's the intent that's different.
  • You'd need context to determine that.
  • If you assume the context may be adjusted to support either choice, then, of course, both are correct.
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5 Answers
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He pointed to/at the dog when it ran toward them.

The physical action is the same. It's the intent that's different. You'd need context to determine that.

If you assume the context may be adjusted to support either choice, then, of course, both are correct.

It's not a grammatical question. Both are
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Hi, Avangi!
Thank you for spending time explaining to me. I really appreciate it. I want to make it clear here. The question "He pointed ___ the dog when it ran toward them" is from the exam paper. And I must choose either "to" or "at". What I understand here is that "which one is more correct?or which one is the better and safer choice? Thank you for listening to me.
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It's almost impossible to judge, without more context.
If the writer of the question disagreed with your answer, he could give you any number of reasons why his choice is better. What he would really be doing is describing the context he had in mind when he wrote the question.
I think I've already said why I prefer "to." That also seems to have been the writer's choice.
I could gi
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I would like to thank you again, Avangi. Thank you for your clear explanation and patience to me.
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Sorry, but this is clear as mud.

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