‘Into’ vs. ‘In To’: How to Use ‘Into’ and ‘In To’ Correctly

The single word “into” and the two-word phrase “in to” have slightly different meanings and different uses. To avoid common errors, remember the following two rules.

• “Into” is a preposition. In the English language, prepositions describe relationships between words. In the clause "she jumped into the pool," the word “into” describes the relationship between the jumper and the pool.
• “In to” involves words from verb phrases. Use “in to” if the word "to" is part of an infinitive verb phrase. For example, "She brought me in to train for the job." You can also use “in to” if the word "in" is part of a phrasal verb. For example, "I will plug in to this guitar amp."

“Into” is a preposition that means "to the inside" of something. Other common prepositions include “around,” “at,” “before,” “behind,” “down,” “from,” and “under.” According to English grammar rules, prepositions describe the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word. This standard applies to the word “into.” For example, you can “walk into a restaurant” or “ladle soup into a bowl.”

English grammar prescribes that you use “in to” when either the word “in” or the word “to” is part of a verbal phrase.

• When "in" is part of a verb phrase: It’s correct to write "I will call in to the radio show" because the word "in" is part of the verb phrase "call in."
• When "to" is part of a verb phrase: It’s correct to write "walked in to eat dinner" because the word "to" is part of the infinitive "to eat."

Use “into” as part of a prepositional phrase, as exemplified in the following sentences.

• “The boat sailed into New York Harbor.” In this example, the boat is entering a large, open space (a harbor).
• “She strolled into the room to say hello.” In this example, a person enters a contained space (a room).
• “Twelve goes into 84 seven times.” This example uses a common sentence structure found in mathematics.

Use “in to” when you want to preserve verb phrases involving either the word "in" or the word "to."

• “Let's check in to the hotel before we go out.” In this first sentence, "in" is the second word in the verb phrase “check in.”
• “I moved back in to help my mother take care of the house.” In this example sentence, "to" is the first word of the two-word infinitive phrase "to help.”
• “Jessie stopped in to pick up lunch.” In this example, "to" is part of the three-word infinitive phrase "to pick up.” In this and the preceding example, it is important to preserve the infinitive form of the verb to avoid changing the core meaning of each sentence.

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