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After or onto

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paok1970
 
Reply Sun 17 Sep, 2017 02:04 am
If they are both correct, do the following sentences have the same meaning?

1) He's being very careful because he thinks the police are onto him.

2) He's being very careful because he thinks the police are after him.


Thank you.
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Type: Question • Score: 1 • Views: 389 • Replies: 2
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centrox
 
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Reply Sun 17 Sep, 2017 02:28 am
@paok1970,
Both correct; both idiomatic/slang/casual. They have subtly different meanings:

the police are onto him: the police suspect him of something or are watching him.

the police are after him: all of the above; in addition, the police are actively searching for him in order to arrest him.

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PUNKEY
 
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Reply Fri 22 Sep, 2017 05:42 am
It would be: The police are on to him.

Being "on" to another person is to know their motive.
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