Use the prepositions TO and INTO like a native speaker, plus learn how to correctly use INTO and IN TO with your English writing.
| The preposition to can mean – in the direction of something; towards something. |
| “The ball rolled to the end of the Street.” |
| Go into or get into it means to enter or to go inside. |
| “Kevin walked into the party and started looking for his friends.“ |
| Into can also mean – in the direction of something |
| “If you stare into the sun you will damage your eyes.” |
| We can find the words in to as a combination of a phrasal verb and another verb to show purpose. |
| “I was in the neighborhood so I thought I would drop in to say good morning.” |
Language students everywhere face the same challenge – PREPOSITIONS. I struggle with Japanese prepositions myself as a language student. This struggle has helped me understand the easiest way to learn them, and as a teacher, it has shown me the best way to teach them.
With lots of natural examples!
The preposition TO is a common word that most people studying English can easily recognize. This word has different uses and meanings, but the most basic way to use it is with verbs of movement. It means:
– in the direction of something; towards something.
All definitions in this post come from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries
We go/come or travel TO a place or an event
- I have to travel to Europe a lot for my job.
- Are you coming to my party this Saturday?
- I went to the Fuji Rock festival in 2011, it was amazing.
- Andre saw a huge dog on his way to work.
- My sister went to Venezuela for 6 months after university.
15 verbs of movement used with the preposition TO
(These examples were chosen because the verbs are followed directly by the preposition to.)
*Click the verb to learn it’s meaning at Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries
| Verb | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| drive | My friend and I drove to Florida when we were in high school. |
| get | How do you get to Tokyo station? |
| go | Are you going to the class picnic this Saturday? |
| jog | I jog to school when the weather is nice. |
| limp | After the tackle, Zachary stood up slowly and limped to the bench. |
| move | I’m moving to a new house in October. |
| on one’s way | Can you drop me off at school on your way to work? |
| roll | The ball rolled to the end of the Street. |
| rush | After work, I rushed to my daughter’s school to watch her in the school play. |
| run | We got scared so we ran to our friend’s house. |
| sprint | In the final stretch of the race, Denise sprinted to the finish line. |
| stagger | Derek set his beer down, got off his stool, and staggered to the bathroom. |
| swagger | Feeling very confident Peter swaggered to the front of the class. |
| tiptoe | I didn’t want to wake my wife so I tiptoed to the kitchen to get a midnight snack. |
| walk | I usually walk to school but sometimes I take the bus. |
The preposition TO with the noun trip and the Passive Voice
Sometimes need to use the preposition TO with the noun trip.
- We take a family trip to Ottawa every summer to visit my grandparents.
- Jessica is planning a trip to Spain next Spring.
- How was your trip to Ireland?
We also use the passive voice with verbs of movement if the person WAS MOVED somewhere.
Passive voice uses the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were) plus the past participle form of the verb in the main action.
- After the accident, he was taken to the hospital.
- The president’s plane was late due to poor weather. As soon as he landed he was rushed to the summit.
- Gregory was a noisy student. He was moved to the front of the class so the teacher could keep an eye on him.
Some more verbs of movement that are used in the passive voice with the preposition to. These verbs are in the past participle form.
- Airlifted – an operation to take people, soldiers, food, etc. to or from an area by aircraft, especially in an emergency or when roads are closed or dangerous
The crash victim was airlifted to the nearest hospital.
- Brought – to come to a place with somebody/something
The suspect was brought to the courthouse from the local jail.
- Carried – to support the weight of somebody/something and take them or it from place to place; to take somebody/something from one place to another
The medical staff came on the field and the player was carried to the locker room.
- Shipped – to send or transport somebody/something by ship or by another means of transport
The equipment was shipped to the factory this morning.
The preposition INTO – meaning
When we say go into or get into it means to enter or to go inside.
- The president went into the conference room and started talking to the other world leaders. (The president entered the conference room)
- Kevin walked into the party and started looking for his friends. (Kevin entered the party)
- A mouse got into my house through a hole in my basement. (A mouse went inside my house)
- I put the shoes back into the shoebox so they wouldn’t get damaged. (I put the shoes inside the box)
- Somebody broke into our office last night and stole my laptop. (Someone forced entry to our office) BREAK IN and BREAK UP (Video + QUIZ)
The preposition IN can be used by itself sometimes too.
- 3 girls came into the store.
- 3 girls came in the store.
One meaning of INTO is very similar to the preposition TO.
– in the direction of something
But this meaning of INTO is not used with verbs of movement. Here are 3 examples:
- Please speak directly into the mic.
- If you stare into the sun you will damage your eyes.
- I looked into her eyes and I felt she was being sincere.
Speak, stare and look are not verbs of movement. A microphone, the sun and her eyes are not places we move to. INTO is used more with places of focus.
– Speak directly (focus your voice) INTO the microphone.
– If you stare (focus your eyes) INTO the sun you will damage your eyes.
– I looked (focused deeply) INTO her eyes and I felt she was being sincere.
Verbs used with the preposition INTO
Here are some verbs that are commonly used with the preposition INTO.
- To meet or make contact with
| bump | I bumped into my boss’s wife at the supermarket. |
| crash | The truck crashed into a traffic light. Luckily no one was hurt. |
| run | I ran into my boss’s wife at the supermarket. |
- To put something into two or more parts
| cut | The cake was cut into eight slices. |
| divide | The homeowner divided his basement into two parts. He made separate bedrooms for his two sons. |
| split | The woodsman swung his axe and split the wood into 2 pieces. |
- To change from one language INTO another
| translate | This book is very popular. it has been translated into eight languages. |
In to or Into?
Many of my private and group lesson students have been confused when they see a sentence that has the words IN and TO next to each other. They feel like they should always be written as one word – INTO. This is not correct. Let me show you how to know which pattern to use.
In English, we often use Phrasal Verbs. A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition and many phrasal verbs are made with the preposition IN.
Here are some examples:
- Drop in – to pay an informal visit to a person or a place
I was in the neighborhood so I thought I would drop in to say good morning.
*To say is the infinitive form of the verb SAY. The preposition TO is showing purpose in this sentence. To say good morning is the reason we dropped in. INTO is not correct here.
- Log in – to perform the actions that allow you to begin using a computer system, application, or online account
My friend is addicted to Social media. As soon as he wakes up he logs in to his Facebook account before he even gets out of bed.
Learn and use 50 Common Phrasal Verbs – video+PDF
*NOTE*
Login is written as one word when it is used as a noun.
Please enter your login ID to continue.
Log in is a phrasal verb that means that you connect to a machine (such as a host, server, workstation and so on) or authenticate to a user interface by providing your credentials. In this case, to is a preposition that links the phrasal verb to the upcoming word. – That is why the correct spelling is log in to not
https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/styleguide/tw/log_in_to.htmllog into.
To, Into, In to Conclusion
The preposition to can be used with verbs of movement. Go into or get into it means to enter or to go inside. We can find the words in to as a combination of a phrasal verb and another noun or to show purpose.
Has today’s blog post been helpful for you to understand the difference between these prepositions? Be sure to check out my other preposition blog posts, videos, and more. Have a look at my Resource page too for more helpful English tools, courses and freebies.
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