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Point in, point of, point to. (Point in the sense of "purpose".) What are the differences among these — in meaning? in usage (each is used in certain constructions or with certain collocates, say)? in dialect? in register? etc.

Some examples (though I'm asking more generally than just about these examples):

(1a) There's no point in going.
(1b) There's no point of going.
(1c) There's no point to going.

(2a) Is there a point in his action?
(2b) Is there a point of his action?
(2c) Is there a point to his action?

(3a) What's the point in that sculpture's being there?
(3b) What's the point of that sculpture's being there?
(3c) What's the point to that sculpture's being there?

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  • Answer: it all depends. In your examples, 1b is awkward if not ungrammatical; 2b likewise, and 2c conveys the meaning best while 2a is ambiguous (could refer to point in time); any of the third group could be used, though I would favor 3b.
    – Robusto
    Mar 25, 2012 at 16:09
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    It's also sometimes used with no preposition at all; I think your (1a-c) examples wouldn't require a preposition if your gerund phrase were a bit longer, e.g. "There's no point arguing about it."
    – ruakh
    Mar 25, 2012 at 22:50
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    @FumbleFingers: Firstly -- gerunds aren't exactly nouns; they're verb forms that share nounish behaviors, but they can be modified by adverbs (as you've just shown: "arguing endlessly" = "endless arguing"), and they can take direct objects ("arguing a point" = "the arguing of a point"). Secondly -- length can affect grammaticality; *"he gave to the congregation one" is not grammatical (it has to be "he gave one to the congregation" or "he gave the congregation one"), but "he gave to the congregation not just one, not just two, but almost twenty!" is fine. Thirdly -- [continued]
    – ruakh
    Mar 26, 2012 at 1:18
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    @FumbleFingers: [continued] Thirdly -- that-clauses, though like gerunds they sometimes behave nounishly ("That he came was not a surprise" = "His arrival/coming was not a surprise"), are not introduced by prepositions ("I was surprised that he came" = "I was surprised by his arrival/coming" ≠ *"I was surprised by that he arrived"). Gerunds frequently are introduced by prepositions, so they're nounier than that-clauses in this respect, but it doesn't seem strange to me that longer gerund-phrases could behave more that-clause-like in some cases.
    – ruakh
    Mar 26, 2012 at 1:22
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    It is quite common for prepositions to get dropped as language evolves. It depends where you live is more common than It depends on where you live. I suspect that There's no point arguing will soon become more common, too. There's no point in arguing about it.
    – user57664
    Nov 19, 2013 at 2:25

1 Answer 1

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There's no "rule" here - just established idiomatic norms.

1a - There's no point in going. (most common)
1b - There's no point of going. (non-standard)
1c - There's no point to going. (sometimes acceptable)

2a - Is there a point in his action? (often acceptable)
2b - Is there a point of his action? (non-standard)
2c - Is there a point to his action? (most common)

3a - What's the point in that sculpture's being there? (often acceptable)
3b - What's the point of that sculpture's being there? (most common)
3c - What's the point to that sculpture's being there? (sometimes acceptable)

(Most speakers would drop the apostrophe+s on the last three.)

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    Nice sets! I agree with FumbleFingers' judgements. What I notice is the different predicates of the prepositions in each of your groups. in + gerund (N over V) to + noun (just N) of + gerundive phrase? (NP over VP-with-subject: "that sculpture is there") This might explain part of the differences.
    – Neil Salmond
    Mar 25, 2012 at 22:16
  • @FumbleFingers It would be nteresting to compare with what happens when substituting reason for point.
    – schremmer
    Jan 14, 2018 at 17:46
  • @schremmer: If you could come up with 3 prepositions capable of being used after reason, and 3 sets of example usages featuring each different preposition (wherein every preposition appears once only, as the most common form within the "triplet"), I would surely upvote it with bells on! I suspect that may not be possible, though. Or if you think that one's too easy, try figuring out the other 8 examples to go with There is method in my madness!
    – FumbleFingers
    Jan 14, 2018 at 18:15

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