I am often hesitant to write Mean Ol ‘Schoolmarm posts because I am not a grammarian. That said, writing these posts exercises my love of learning and encourages me to remain teachable (yes, even at my ripe old age); so, here we go.
Because the question of whether to use “into” or “in to” rears its head in my own writing, as well as the fact that the two are NOT interchangeable, I decided to define their proper usage and give a few examples.
“Into” is a preposition.
The word “into” is a preposition (linking word) that conveys movement toward or into (there’s that word again) something else; some kind of action must occur to use “into” in the sentence.
When confused whether to use it or not, just remember that “into” will usually answer the question, where?
Please note: “Where” does not necessarily mean a physical place–it can be metaphysical; for instance, “She went into business.”
She plunged her face into a vat of cherries.
WHERE did she plunge her face?
She plunged her face INTO a vat of cherries.
Thankfully, the man sneezed into the tissue.
WHERE did the man sneeze?
He sneezed INTO the tissue.
In other cases, the single word “into” can informally convey a deep interest in something; for instance, “She is really into Grammar.”
“In to” is an adverb followed by a preposition.
When writing “In to” (two words), the “in” can be an adverb, but it can also be a preposition, adjective, or noun. And the word “to” is usually a preposition, but it could also be an adverb or part of an infinitive.
EGADS, PEOPLE!
The kicker is that the two words “in” and “to” might not be related to each other at all; in some cases they simply fall next to each other in a sentence.
One old trick is to substitute “in order to” for “in to” and see if the sentence (sometimes loosely) makes sense.
Agatha came in to scream at her brother.
Let’s substitute “in order to” and see if it works.
Agatha came IN ORDER TO scream at her brother.
YES!
Let’s try another example.
They tossed the clothes in to dry after washing the load.
Hmmmm…when we substitute “in order to” it appears to work; albeit VERY loosely.
They tossed the clothes IN ORDER TO dry after washing the load.
By the way, have you heard the old joke about the magician?
The differences between “into” and “in to” may seem subtle, and, unfortunately, there are times the “tricks” won’t work at all. A handle on the intricacies of grammar is the best tool, but even then–it can be difficult; for instance, check out this old grammar joke.
“Have you heard the old joke about the magician who was so talented that he could drive down the street and turn into a gas station?
Obviously, he should have turned in to a gas station.
How did you learn whether to use “in to” or “into”? Any tricks for the rest of us?
Heather Sanders is a leading homeschooling journalist who inspires homeschooling families across the nation. Married to Jeff, Heather lives in the East Texas Piney Woods and homeschools her three children, Emelie, Meredith and Kenny.