# to point to / point at



## ismaelote

Hello!
I'm reading a book and I don't understand why it is said 'point to' instead of 'point at'.
I'd be glad if some of you could help me.

This is the fragment where it appears:

'So where are your father and mother?' he asked.
'There, sir' I answered, pointing to their graves.

I would have said 'pointing at their graves' and I don't know why the writer uses to.

Could somebody explain it to me? when point to and at?

Ismael


----------



## mariafer

In this dictionary they say "point to -indicar, point at - señalar". I can´t see a remarkable difference between them but I would also choose "point at" in this context.


----------



## Paul5251

I would say "pointing at their graves" as well. However, colloquially english speakers use both "to" and "at" in this expression. Usually, people say "pointing towards" rather than "pointing to"  in any case. All of these are correct, its just a matter of style. Hope this helps!


----------



## jinti

ismaelote said:


> 'So where are your father and mother?' he asked.
> 'There, sir' I answered, pointing to their graves.
> 
> I would have said 'pointing at their graves' and I don't know why the writer uses to.
> 
> Could somebody explain it to me? when point to and at?


Hmm, it's hard to explain, but let me give it a try.

When you point _to_ something, you are pointing in its direction or showing the way to it or identifying it.

When you point _at_ something, you are just directly indicating it.

It's subtle and I don't think there's always a clear distinction between them -- it's more like there's a continuum with some overlap.

In the context you've given, if he had pointed at their graves, it would have sounded to me like they were buried pretty close to him. Since he pointed to their graves, it sounds like he's identifying where they're buried from a little more of a distance.


----------



## Dlyons

mariafer said:


> In this dictionary they say "point to -indicar, point at - señalar". I can´t see a remarkable difference between them but I would also choose "point at" in this context.



It's a fairly subtle difference and in common usage they are pretty much interchangable.

"To point to" directs a person's attention in a direction.  This might be without a physical gesture e.g. "let me point you to what Lorca wrote in ...".

"To point at" directs a person's attention _onto_ something.  It has a more aggressive, accusing feeling "he pointed (angrily) at me".  You can also point an object "at" but not "to".  "I pointed my gun at the robber".

So in the instance of the graves "To point to" is clearly more appropriate - but I wouldn't have noticed if the writer had said "To point at".


----------



## ismaelote

Oh, thank you all!. I thought that, perhaps, it wouldn't be something serious, but anyway it's good to know these small details of English


----------



## english apprentice

HI pals 

Right now I`m reading "A painted house" by John Grisham, and I `ve come across this: "Pappy came to the mound and pointed *AT* my father".
This is about a baseball game in which "Pappy" wanted Luke`s father to pitch. What I want to know is if I could say "Pappy came to the mound and pointed *TO* my father"

I`ve seen other cases in which "point" is used with the preposition "to", but I can`t figure out why is so. 

Could you explain to me the difference in use or maening, if there`s any?

Thanks


----------



## Tazzler

Hello,

In this case, there probably isn't any difference, but I like _to point at_ a lot more. 

I hope this helps .


----------



## english apprentice

Thanks Tazzler 

Do you know any special case in which there could be an important difference?

Thanks


----------



## elirlandes

There is no hard and fast rule.

"Point at" comes across as a little more accusatory, whereas "point to" suggests merely a directional indication.


----------



## english apprentice

ahh 

Really interesting to know 

Thanks elirlandes


----------



## esl student

The context is a teacher giving students instructions, he is holding map on his hand and says" 

*Monica I point at/to a place on the map* an you ask Luis a question about a location, 

Example: *I point at/to the drugstore and you ask Luis*, where is the drugstore?

So I am not sure whether I should use point to or point at?

Any suggestions?

By the way , please don´t hesitate to correct the rest of my text.

Thank you.


----------



## chileno

En este caso se pueden usar cualquiera de las dos formas.

at = a el/a la
to = hacia (el, la los, las, un...)


----------



## gengo

esl student said:


> The context is a teacher giving students instructions, he is holding map in his hand and says:
> 
> *Monica, I'll point *at/*to a place on the map* and you ask Luis a question about a location,
> 
> Example: *I**'ll** point *at/*to** the drugstore and you ask Luis*, where is the drugstore?



When the object is in a picture, a book, etc., we usually use "point to."  If it is a real object (real drugstore, etc.), you could use either one, but "point at" sometimes has a negative nuance of mockery.

She pointed to the boy wearing a dress.
She pointed at the boy wearing a dress.

In the first one, she is merely indicating the boy, but in the second, she may be making fun of him.  However, "point at" is also used in a neutral way, so there is overlap in their usage.


----------



## gengo

chileno said:


> En este caso se pueden usar cualquiera de las dos formas.



That is true.  What I wrote above was an effort to distinguish between the two, but in real life, the two phrasal verbs are often interchangeable.


----------



## chileno

gengo said:


> That is true.  What I wrote above was an effort to distinguish between the two, but in real life, the two phrasal verbs are often interchangeable.



I really thank you for the explanation. It is always better to speak in a proper way.

Although to kick a bad habit...


----------



## esl student

gengo said:


> That is true. What I wrote above was an effort to distinguish between the two, but in real life, the two phrasal verbs are often interchangeable.


 
So, I can use either  to or at?


----------



## gengo

esl student said:


> So, I can use either  to or at?



You can, but "to" sounds much better in this context.


----------



## esl student

Gotcha!!, thank you very much.


----------



## Brautryðjandinn í Úlfsham

esl student:
I am a native English speaker and I personally think that it sounds much better and more natural to say "at" in these sentences. "To" is also completely correct but I almost always say "point at". The sentences you wrote are all correct. You speak English very well!


----------



## gengo

Obviously, this is a subjective point (no pun intended), and different people will have different opinions.  However, "at" often makes a verb more aggressive.  A few examples are:

Shout at vs. shout to
Drive at vs. drive to
Throw at vs. throw to
Point at vs. point to
Speak at vs. speak to

This list could be made very long, but it demonstrates what I was saying above, that we often use "point at" in a mocking way, while "point to" is neutral.  To put it another way, using "at" with a verb often implies that the recipient of the verb is affected negatively by the action.

_I drove my car *to* her house, and when I saw her, I drove the car *at* her (para atropellarla)._

Again, though, there is considerable overlap in usage, and as the above post shows, some speakers may not observe this distinction.


----------



## esl student

Brautryðjandinn í Úlfsham said:


> esl student:
> I am a native English speaker and I personally think that it sounds much better and more natural to say "at" in these sentences. "To" is also completely correct but I almost always say "point at". The sentences you wrote are all correct. You speak English very well!


 
Thank you.
(You just made my day with your compliment)


----------



## Forero

You can point a gun or other object at someone or something, not to.
You can point someone to something or to someone else, not at.
Throwing something to a person means putting it within their reach by throwing it.
Throwing something at a person means throwing it toward them either carelessly (it may not reach them) or with the intent of striking them with it.

I would use to in the sentences about pointing at/to places on a map.


----------



## gothicpartner

gengo said:


> Obviously, this is a subjective point (no pun intended), and different people will have different opinions. However, "at" often makes a verb more aggressive. A few examples are:
> 
> Shout at vs. shout to
> Drive at vs. drive to
> Throw at vs. throw to
> Point at vs. point to
> Speak at vs. speak to
> 
> This list could be made very long, but it demonstrates what I was saying above, that we often use "point at" in a mocking way, while "point to" is neutral. To put it another way, using "at" with a verb often implies that the recipient of the verb is affected negatively by the action.
> 
> _I drove my car *to* her house, and when I saw her, I drove the car *at* her (para atropellarla)._
> 
> Again, though, there is considerable overlap in usage, and as the above post shows, some speakers may not observe this distinction.


 
I agree

Other examples
**Special Note* 

When you shout at someone. (You are angry) 
When you shout to someone. (You want to attract their attention.) 

You throw the ball at someone. (You want to hit them with the ball.) 
You throw the ball to someone. (You want them to have it, you give it to them.) 

http://advanced-english-grammar.com/prepositions-of-direction.html


----------



## Ivan Ariel

Hi, which would be the proper preposition in this case?

"Point at another picture" or "Point to another picture"

Thanks!


----------



## Masood

What's the Spanish sentence?


----------



## Ivan Ariel

"Señalando a otro dibujo"


----------



## albertovidal

Ivan Ariel said:


> "Señalando a otro dibujo"



_I'd say "Pointing to..."_


----------



## Ivan Ariel

So, pointing at something, would be wrong?


----------



## albertovidal

Ivan Ariel said:


> So, pointing at something, would be wrong?



"Pointing at something" es correcto pero no en el sentido de "señalando" sino de "apuntando"


----------



## Chris K

Both "to" and "at" can be used, but "to" is more common when you want to use something as evidence (often metaphorically):

_Those who believe that the world is round can point to several pieces of evidence._

"At" is more common when you're just indicating what someone does physically:

_He pointed at a photograph on the wall and said "that's my uncle."_


----------

