Switch on means to start a device (a light, TV, computer, kettle) with a button or switch. It is used for things that run on electricity. Without an object, switch on means to start working: The street lights switch on when it gets dark.
Want to use switch on in conversation?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
switch on + light/TV/laptop; switch it/them on; lights/heating + switch on
- I switched on the kettle and checked my emails while the water boiled.
- Please switch on your cameras when the online lesson starts.
- In our building, the heating switches on automatically at six in the morning.
What changed
First versionThe laptop was off, so I switched on it and opened my notes.
RevisionThe laptop was off, so I switched it on and opened my notes.
When it or them replaces the name of the device, the pronoun goes between switch and on: switched it on. Switched on it is a common word-order mistake. With a noun, both orders are possible: switch on the laptop and switch the laptop on.
For devices, switch on and turn on are almost synonyms, but switch on is especially common in British English, while Americans more often say turn on. Taps, gas and water are turned on by twisting something, so only turn on works: turn on the tap.
Your turn
The lights in the hall were off, so I ___ before the guests arrived.
Show the answer
switched them on — Them replaces the lights, and it goes between the verb and on: switched them on. A native speaker would hear switched on them as a mistake: in this expression the pronoun does not come after on.
Imagine you are going away for a week and leaving a note for a neighbour. Ask them to switch something on in your flat and say when to do it.
Could you switch on the lamp in the living room every evening around eight, so the flat doesn't look empty?
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.