To Navigate TO or THROUGH? Which is correct?

To “Navigate to” or “Navigate through” are both correct and it depends on the context of the sentence. We use “navigate to” when we want to show the direction we are moving in. We use “navigate through” when we need to direct ourselves within the boundaries of something.

Navigate To

The preposition “to” is usually used to mean “in the direction of” when used with a verb or an adjective. This “to” can be physically moving in the direction of” or it can be metaphorical. Let’s look at some examples of “navigate” with the preposition “to”:

You need to navigate to the next harbour.

To find the next page, navigate to the next button.

Navigate Through

We use the preposition “through” with a verb or an adjective when we want to show that we move from one side of something and out the other side. This could be something physical like a tunnel or something emotional like a difficult situation. Let’s look at some examples of “navigate” with the preposition “through”:

It is always difficult to navigate through this part of the lake. It is so confusing!

Your teenage years are the most difficult to navigate through.

Other prepositions with Navigate

There are a few more less common prepositions that we can use with the verb “to navigate”. These prepositions usually help to connect the verb to another part of the sentence such as the instruments we use “to navigate”.

Navigate With

We use “navigate with” to show us how we navigate.

Examples:

We can now navigate our ship with a brand new GPS.

You can navigate the website with your mouse.

Navigate By

We use “navigate by” to show us how or who navigates.

Examples:

We navigated by GPS.

The ship was navigated by Captain Eamon McGuinness.

Navigate In

We use “navigate in” to show where we are physically.

Example Sentence:

We need to navigate in dangerous waters.

Navigate Around

We also use “navigate around” to show where we are physically.

Example Sentence:

It is a difficult place to navigate around.

Final Thoughts

We often use “navigate to” when we want to show we move from one place to the next. We use “navigate through” when there is a difficult obstacle in our way and we need to get to the other side

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Conor

Conor is the main writer here at One Minute English and was an English teacher for 10 years. He is interested in helping people with their English skills and learning about using A.I tools at work.