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Scut Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

into vs in to

When should you use in to and when should it be into?

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Top answer

Action or movement traditionally require into : I ran into the bar . This is in contradistinction to the location preposition, in : I am drinking in the bar . In to is two separate particles (an adverbial and an infinite marker): I sat in to learn the details of my assignment ; I came in to warm my feet .

— Mister Micawber

  • Action or movement traditionally require into : I ran into the bar .
  • This is in contradistinction to the location preposition, in : I am drinking in the bar .
  • In to is two separate particles (an adverbial and an infinite marker): I sat in to learn the details of my assignment ; I came in to warm my feet .
  • PS: I can also make the to a preposition: I went in to the jeers of my enemies .
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32 Answers
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Action or movement traditionally require into: I ran into the bar. This is in contradistinction to the location preposition, in: I am drinking in the bar.

In to is two separate particles (an adverbial and an infinite marker): I sat in to learn the details of my assignment; I came in to warm my feet.

PS: I can also make the
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"Into" usually answers the question "where." I jumped into the water. They went into the army.
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Yes, into tells us there is some movement.
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Whereas "in to" means "in order to." He went in to see if he could help.
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How about non-literal movement? For example I dialed into/in to the conference call or She bought into/in to the idea?

Also, how about turning into something, such as He turned into a bat and flew out the window? "Into" seems clearly correct here but there is no movement (at least until the flying out the window part). Perhaps the movement is implied?
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Yes, perhaps we can say that 'into' suggests movement, transition, or change of state.
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Into is also used for change state.
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Could you say that "in order to" is a good way to judge when to use "in to" vs. "into"? For example, "He went into the bar" could not be said "He went in in order to the bar," while on the other hand, "He went in to see if he could help" could be thought of as "He went in in order to see if he could help."
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Well, it does not work with one of my early examples: I went in to the jeers of my enemies.
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