When to Use Into or In

Using in or into is easy to master. When you use the word in, position is indicated.

• His pen was in his shirt pocket.

Into, however, points to movement—of something or someone.

• He put the thermos into his briefcase.

Here are a few example sentences of when to use into and when to use in:

• She came home from a trip and walked into an empty house.
• He rode his bike into the mailbox because he wasn’t watching where he was going.
• The ketchup is in the refrigerator.
• The milk is still in the bag.

Notice that in the first two sentences, we used into because there was movement: she went from outside her house to inside, and he rode his bike into a mailbox. Note he didn’t go inside the mailbox, but movement was involved.

In the next two sentences, there was no movement: the ketchup was sitting in the refrigerator, and the milk was sitting in the bag. There was no movement involved.

🐗 If there is movement from one place to another, use into. If what you’re speaking of involves no movement, use in.

In and Into and When to Use “In To”

Into, in, and “in to” are much the same as onto, on, and “on to.”

The rules for some of the ways to use each one are the same. Let’s look at “in to.”

You will almost always be using either into or in, but there are times when “in to” is called for. The sentences below show a few of them.

• The robbers broke in to rob the bank.
• She walked in to hear her spouse talking to his girlfriend.

In each of the cases above, we’re using a verb coupled with in that means something else. In the first sentence, it’s “break in,” and in the second it’s “walk in.”

So the robbers didn’t break into rob . . . they “broke in” to rob . . ..

And she didn’t walk into hear . . . she “walked in” to hear something being said.

🐗 If there’s movement shown, use into. If there is no movement, use in. And if it’s part of a verb phrase, use “in to.”

Now let’s try a few sentences

• Put the crackers (in, in to, into) the pantry.
• He was so sleepy he walked (in, in to, into) the wall.
• Why don’t you step (in, in to, into) the shower with me?
• In order to get the money, we had to break (in, in to, into) the safe.

The Answers

✅ Put the crackers into the pantry.

✅ He was so sleepy he walked into the wall.

✅ Why don’t you step into the shower with me?

✅ In order to get the money, we had to break in to the safe.

Some of these are obvious, and some could be considered accurate using either in or into. In the first sentence, “Put the crackers into the pantry,” it’s clear what the meaning is, so despite movement being indicated, in would also be fine to use.

Now look at the second example: “He was so sleepy he walked into the wall.” In this case, he didn’t “walk in” to the wall, he walked into the wall.

And in the third example: “Why don’t you step into the shower with me?” It isn’t obvious enough what is meant. We can assume, but we can’t be sure. If we use in instead of into, it could mean we want the person to join us in the shower to step.

Here are a few more sentences to finish with.

✅ Put the knife in the drawer.

(In works because it’s obvious movement is implied.)

✅ Put the knife into the drawer.

(Into is the more correct usage.)

❌ Put the knife in to the drawer.

(Doesn’t work because in is not part of the verb.)

✅ Dive in the water.

(In works here for the same reason as #1.)

✅ Dive into the water.

(Into is the more correct usage.)

❌ Dive in to the water.

(Not correct because in is not part of the verb.)

✅ Dive in to test the water.

(This works.)

“On,” “On To,” and “Onto”

Almost all the examples above apply to on and onto and “on to.” Though not identical, they are similar. Since we did another book featuring onto, I’ll list only one example here.

❌ After seeing the butterflies, we moved onto the dinosaurs.

You didn’t move on top of the dinosaurs, you moved on to them; in other words, went from the butterfly exhibit to the dinosaur exhibit.

I’ll give you a few more examples using both into and onto.

✅ He walked into the room.

✅ She stepped onto the stage to accept the award.

✅ He dove into the pool, despite it being cold.

✅ She threw the pen onto the floor.

In most cases, especially in casual writing or speaking and where context makes the meaning obvious, in and into and on and onto are interchangeable. But in formal writing, you should get it right because each of the sentences above could be interpreted differently if the words were substituted for in or on.

Take a look below and see.

❌ He walked in the room. That could mean he was already in the room and was walking.

❌ She stepped on the stage to accept the award. Again, that could mean she was on the stage stepping or marching in place.

❌ He dove in the pool, despite it being cold. This is even easier to imagine. He could have been in the pool and dove under the water.

❌ She threw the pen on the floor. Was she on the floor when she threw the pen? Unlikely, but possible.

Remember

🐗 If there is movement from one place to another, use onto. If what you’re speaking of involves no movement, use on.

Tags: grammar, misused words, writing