preposition
1
BAD : At that moment he noticed a man running to him.
GOOD : At that moment he noticed a man running towards him.
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When you are talking about direction, use towards (NOT to ): 'If you walk along the river bank towards Skipton 'you come to a bridge.' 'Keep going towards Manchester until you see the sign for the airport.'
2
BAD : He came into the shop and went to the woman behind the counter.
GOOD : He came into the shop and went up to the woman behind the counter.
BAD : She stood up, walked to John, and asked him what he was doing.
GOOD : She stood up, walked over to John, and asked him what he was doing.
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When you go towards someone and stop in front of them, you go up to, over to or across to them (NOT to or near to ): 'One of the Japanese students walked slowly up to me and, with a huge smile, handed me a rose.'
3
See DOWNSTAIRS (↑ downstairs ), HERE 2 (↑ here ) , HOME 1 (↑ home )
4
See NOT 1 (↑ not )