For this post, we will be learning about Into vs In To,’ which would also include examples of each. For a start, one is a preposition. At the same time, the other is an adverb-preposition combination that isn’t precisely into or related to each other.
First, the one common mistake is confusing Into, spelled as one word, with the two words stance, and that’s In To. So, when deciding which is suitable for your sentence, you need to remember that INTO is simply a proposition that shows what something is inside or within.
As two different words, IN and TO sometimes go hand in hand—I’ll explain more of IN and TO shortly.
What is a Preposition?
A preposition is defined as a word that shows a link or relationship, mainly in terms of space or time, between words in a phrase or clause. Simply put, a preposition is a positioning word.
For example, words such as after, since, before, position elements in time. That is to say, one thing happens before another, or after another, etc.
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While we have some prepositions which describe or try to pinpoint elements in space, such as under, through, in, off, around, and yes, into.
Into is said to place something physically inside some other thing or something. And the thing that does the containing may perhaps be solid or more abstract in a sense.
Here are some excellent examples;
- She placed a note into his pant pocket and left him thinking of what to do next.
- Please, Macy dear, can you put the cat into his carrier to go to the vet early.
- Martin neatly sorted all her documents into separately labeled folders in the cabinet.
- Freddy touched the golden stone and was immediately taken to another world!
That said, the confusion regarding Into vs. In To arises because the two sound the same in our minds. But when it comes to deciding which one to use, it’s simply a simple one to make.
Now, the question is, does something wind up within something else by the end of the given sentence, whether it is within something pretty solid, or something that cannot be touched, like air or a timeframe? If your answer is YES, then you need to write into.
I guess you feel more confident with this now. Well, hold your horses; we ain’t done yet.
Sometimes INTO means CHANGE
The only time things change with INTO is when it doesn’t denote any sense within or tries to simplify a change in a fact.
For instance,
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- Do you know a grub that we so dislike changes INTO a beautiful butterfly?
- The fairy godmother turned Cinderella’s dusty sandals INTO beautiful glass shoes.
- The monster changed INTO a handsome man.
The situation where IN and TO are connected but still apart
When it comes to IN and TO, we can say they are both adverbs or prepositions in their own legal right, while IN may sometimes come as an adjective.
Now, when they do fall logically next to each other in a given sentence, that’s the point you find yourself having to resist that groping temptation to join the both of them together. And the one pitfall which appears is trying to apply IN as part of a phrasal verb. When it comes to various verbs, they are said to join forces with IN to form a whole new meaning.
For instance, TO COME and TO COME IN are different in all their entirety. And when an IN, that is a phrasal verb falls next to a TO, we have a severe illegal problem.
Examples;
- Maria dropped into to tell you hello. (NO)
Maria dropped in to tell you hello. (YES)
Check this out, is HELLO a point or space you can drop into? No, right? So IN and TO should be written as two separate words.
DROPPED IN is signified as a phrasal verb in this case, and TO is simply part of the infinitive to say.
Not to forget, most phrasal verbs, which are applied as prepositions when in combination with TO, do cause significant problems.
Where do we Use INTO?
A slight hint before we sail further into this, it doesn’t matter if you’re new to English, and reading all these may seem like ancient mystic numerals. I’m trying to pinpoint here that when it comes to the English language, you must surely come across these common prepositions, IN and TO, but ask yourself, how much have you come across INTO?
Although I may sound redundant, all you need to remember is that INTO is a preposition that relates to direction. It’s said to be sometimes a bit difficult to differentiate when to apply Into and In To
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I’ll give you some examples to grasp and learn, for there’s a saying, “The more something is repeated, the more knowledge is given.”
- She just barged into my house uninvited (For this, INTO is used to indicate some form of direction)
- Her house was burned down, and she was too sad to step in to the house to see the level of damage (For this, we wouldn’t dare say INTO, and that’s because the word TO is attached to the verb ‘TO SEE.)
What about Log INTO or IN TO?
This is used when writing about connecting to a computer using telnet, ssh, etc., and I’m not pretty sure about what spacing to use in this famous spoken phrase;
- Log in to Bennyselfpublishing.com
- Log into Bennyselfpublishing.com
- Login to Bennyselfpublishing.com
That done, let me give you some insight into this;
Most people would write ‘Log in to Bennyselfpublishing.com”
And when it comes to Login, it’s simply a noun, just like you’ll say login screen. And it would be pretty weird to find Loginned and Loginning awkward, right?
That said, as for “Log in to Bennyselfpublishing.com” versus “Log into Bennyselfpublishing.com,” it would be fitting to use the former because that ‘Log in’ is a fixed phrase.”
The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) lists sixty-five occurrences of ‘LOG IN TO’ and just fifty-eight circumstances of ‘LOG INTO,’ both include inflected forms and separate the spoken section.
Since LOG IN TO is used in a context like LOG IN TO DOWNLOAD WITH, then the actual number of occurrences of LOG IN TO [BENNYSELFPUBLISHING] is a bit smaller than sixty-five. In any case, it suggests that the phrase LOG INTO is also applied commonly; thus, I’m not sure how nice it is to use COCA to compare technical words or terms.
Move INTO or Move IN TO
As was said previously, IN= Inside/Within. It simply signifies a place.
INTO= indicates some motion or movement, and it would be nice to give an example at this juncture.
Examples;
The puppies are in the basket: Which means the puppies are in a place, which is the basket.
She moved in the room to meet him: Which means while in the room, she moved within it.
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She moved into the hall: She moved from somewhere and went straight into the hall.
What is the Difference between IN vs. INSIDE vs. INTO?
This trio has the same meaning but quite different objectives or subtle meanings when it comes to this trio.
To begin with, INTO and IN are both prepositions, as stated out. Inside, on the other hand, is a noun in its own right; in such a case, it pinpoints a specific location.
Let’s take a look at some examples and break down their meaning;
The man jumped in the mine hole.
When it comes to this statement, it is somewhat ambiguous as to the intended meaning if you do observe it. The context might also supply necessary details to determine the state or meaning without any; this wouldn’t resonate with the reader in any way, especially to its intended purpose.
The statement could mean that the man was outside the well and jumped in the hole; it could also mean that the man jumped in the hole—remaining in the hole.
The man jumped into the mine hole.
The meaning of This statement is pretty clear to a majority of us. The man was outside the well, jumped, and landed within the mine hole. From the previous example, if peradventure was the intended meaning and there seems to be no other available context, you should have used this instead.
The man jumped inside the mine hole.
When it comes to this statement, it’s somewhat meaningless. Most times, one would read this statement to mean that the man is inside the mine hole, and it jumped but found no opportunity to leave the hole.
That said, this statement is more often than not used to mean that the man jumped into the mine hole. But that doesn’t call the shots here; this formulation of words is not proper. You may see it used by some writers or speakers, but please do not use it yourself.
Conclusion
In summary, the words INTO and IN TO are pretty similar in their meaning. Still, their difference lies majorly in the fact that INTO is applied when someone or something moves to another location within.
Conversely, IN TO is the adverb IN followed by another preposition TO. They aren’t related and only happen to fall next to each other based on sentence makeup.
