Hello teachersWhat are differences betweewn point at and point to?

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Harry12345

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Hello teachers

What are differences betweewn point at and point to?

Thank you!:)
 

JMurray

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What are differences between point at and point to?

Hi Harry. A lot of the time you can use either phrase interchangeably: "He pointed to the tree and asked what it was called". But "pointed at" would also be fine here.
However, "point at" can sometimes suggest a more direct, and perhaps aggressive, action. For example: "He pointed at me and laughed out loud". Or, "If I wear this silly hat people will point at me in the street".
Another difference is that you can "point to" something in speech without actually pointing a finger. For example: "In my report tomorrow I want to point to the improvement in our sales by reading out some statistics". In this case "point at" is not appropriate.
 

Harry12345

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What are differences between point at and point to?

Hi Harry. A lot of the time you can use either phrase interchangeably: "He pointed to the tree and asked what it was called". But "pointed at" would also be fine here.
However, "point at" can sometimes suggest a more direct, and perhaps aggressive, action. For example: "He pointed at me and laughed out loud". Or, "If I wear this silly hat people will point at me in the street".
Another difference is that you can "point to" something in speech without actually pointing a finger. For example: "In my report tomorrow I want to point to the improvement in our sales by reading out some statistics". In this case "point at" is not appropriate.

Murray teacher, Thank you!:-D
 
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