Whisper in vs whisper into

Question

Hi everybody,Please answer these 2 related questions to me if it is possible. I tried to express my thoughts... but it is just hard if I try to talk about English grammar in English.1. There is this thing:I whispered something into/in her earIs it in or into? Which one is the better (I guess both are good)?2. I would like to examine this sentence a little bit... but I don't understand it exactly.I think of things like prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs, normal verbs, etc. I doN'T think that it is a prepositional verb (because [among others] preposition doesn't follow immediately the verb). For me, it seems a normal transitive verb and I guess into/in connects to her ear (and not to the verb). But in this case how do we call it? I'm confused a little bit. I checked these descriptions:http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/44688-teaching-prepositional-phrases/http://www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-tips-foreign-languages/31058-phrasal-verbs-for-esl-students/and it seemed good... but I guess these are not connected with this example. I just would like to find out why I can't use  dictionaries to answer the first question here. 'it' and 'into' share a very similar meaning as I can see in dictionaries:http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/in_1 (2. here)http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/into (1. here)but I can't identify the building blocks of the original sentence (the blue one).Thank you very much for your answers, and sorry for my silly questions.

Fivejedjon · Accepted Answer

Hole One a New SeeI whispered something into/in her earIs it in or into? Which one is the better (I guess both are good)?

'Into' is more logical, but 'in' is fine/ Native speakers frequently use 'in' when learners might expect 'into'.

Hole One a New SeeFor me, it seems a normal transitive verb and I guess into/in connects to her ear (and not to the verb). But in this case how do we call it?

Many writers today use the label prepositional phrase for groups of words such as 'in/into her ear'.

CalifJim · Answer

Hole One a New SeeI whispered something into/in her ear Is it in or into? Which one is the better?

'into' is probably better because this is directed motion, not position. (Obviously I was not in her ear.) Nevertheless, 'in' commonly substitutes for 'into' in most everyday speech.

Hole One a New Seeit seems a normal transitive verb

It's normal, but not transitive. It doesn't have an object. 'in(to) her ear' is not an object. 'whisper' is not a prepositional verb because 'in' (or 'into') is not a required preposition. Other prepositions are possible with "whisper". (I whispered around the corner; I whispered to her; I whispered over the partition) Besides, everything in the sentence is literal, so you should be able to see that it's very unlikely to be a phrasal verb.

CJ

Hole One a New See · Answer

Thank you very much for the answer, fivejedjon

I guess the structure of this sentence is this:

Subject ( I ) + verb ( whispered ) and its object ( something ) + prepositional phrase ( into her ear ) which practically functions as an adverb of place.

Am I right? I tried to use the dictionary in the following way:

1. I checked whether the verb 'whisper' has a pattern like 'whisper in/into ... ' or 'whisper + preposition/adverb' at the given meaning. And it wasn't there.
2. I supposed that it could be an optionally separable phrasal verb (based only on the structure. I didn't find any phrasal verb in the dictionary). But in this case the words 'her ear' wouldn't make any sense even if it could be a phrasal verb.

Question 2: Is 'prepositional phrase' a distinctive concept? For me, it would mean that, for example, it can't be the part of a prepositional verb. For example:

I looked up the chimney to see if the cat was there.

I wouldn't consider 'up the chimney' a 'prepositional phrase' (if it is a distinctive concept). It has the same structure but it forms the part of a prepositional verb.

Thank you very much for your answer in advance.

Hole One a New See · Answer

Thank you very much for the answer, CalifJim

How can I decide whether a preposition is a directed motion or not? I only try dictionary definitions and those seemed very similar. These are the definitions:

in:

into a container, place etc.

into:

to the inside or inner part of a container, place, area etc:

and I can't see the difference. Maybe I could say that 'into' consists of 'in' + 'to' and 'to' makes it directed. But I guess this logic is clumsy a little bit.

It's normal, but not transitive.

I thought that 'something' is the object.

Non- English-related question (How can I write such a compound adjective?):

Can I select non-continuous text (for example the red one in my previous post) here somehow? It would be good if could use a hotkey for this. I can do it in (Microsoft) Word but not here.

Question: Can you see when I reply to fivejedjon? Basically I would like to reply to everybody at the same time but I can't find such a button. Should I reply to my original post in this case? Would it be indicated at you (if I reply to my original post)? Now I divided my message into 2 parts but it would be better if I could send 1 bigger message to every person answering here.

Thank you very much for your answer in advance.

Fivejedjon · Answer

Hole One a New SeeSubject ( I ) + verb ( whispered ) and its object ( something ) + prepositional phrase ( into her ear ) which practically functions as an adverb of place.Am I right?

Yes

Hole One a New SeeIs 'prepositional phrase' a distinctive concept? For me, it would mean that, for example, it can't be the part of a prepositional verb. For example:I looked up the chimney to see if the cat was there.I wouldn't consider 'up the chimney' a 'prepositional phrase' (if it is a distinctive concept). It has the same structure but it forms the part of a prepositional verb.

I see no reason to regard 'looked up' in the sentence I have underlined as a prepositional verb. 'I' simply looked. The prepositional phrase tells us where 'I' looked, up the chimney, down the manhole, under the chair, etc.

Hole One a New See · Answer

Thank you, fivejedjon <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

CalifJim · Answer

Hole One a New SeeHow can I decide whether a preposition is a directed motion or not?

Well, a preposition isn't motion of any kind, actually. It's a word. The preposition 'into' indicates directed motion, however. And your dictionary examples will usually give you a good idea whether a preposition indication motion or not.

I am sitting quietly here with my friend Diane. (No motion associated with "with".)
They all jumped into the water. (There's motion here.)
Jill is resting in bed. (No motion here.)

You can often use "in" instead of "into", but you can't always use "into" instead of "in". If you use "into" for motion (Please go into the kitchen and get me paper towel) and you use "in" for position (The stamps are in this drawer), you'll be fine.

Hole One a New SeeI thought that 'something' is the object.

Right. For some reason I was focused on sentences like I whispered in her ear. "whisper" can be used transitively or intransitively.

Hole One a New SeeCan you see when I reply to fivejedjon?

Reply separately to each person. It will be clearer if you quote something so we know who you are replying to.

All posts are public. Everybody can see what everybody else writes.

CJ

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