# "in to" vs. "into" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131 "2021-04-30T23:47:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/1 "2021-04-30T23:47:31Z")
All my life I’ve seen the word **into** used in this way for written communication: I’m really **into** this. Are you going **into** work today? For me, **into** just doesn’t seem right in those sentences. I think **in to** would be more correct, I’m really **in to** this. Are you going **in to** work today? In the above two examples, is **into** or **in to** correct? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/2 "2021-04-30T23:59:33Z")
Both are idiomatic expressions. Neither of them are to be taken literally. If you are going into work, you are not outside the building about to enter through the doorway. If you are into jazz, you are not physically moving through a jazz dimension. As idioms they can be spelled any way the historic use of the term settled on, so into is fine. There is even a dictionary definition that fits, as per [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): > _(used to indicate entry, inclusion, or introduction in a place or condition): received into the church._ ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/3 "2021-05-01T00:08:18Z")
Since we’re citing the dictionary, [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/into?utm_campaign=sd&utm_medium=serp&utm_source=jsonld) gives one definition of “into” as > [@](#): > > **:** involved with or interested in > // _into_ sports > // not _into_ her music So I would write “I’m really **into** this” (one word). But I would say “Are you going **in to** work today?” because “in” and “to” do function as separate words: “Are you going in today?” “In where?” “To work.” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/4 "2021-05-01T00:23:29Z")
I think those should both be “into” since they are positioning the object, even if just idiomatically. The second one might be “in to” if work is a verb and not a place. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/5 "2021-05-01T00:24:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “In where?” > “To work.” That would be into. “To do **what**?” “To work.” would be “in to”. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/6 "2021-05-01T00:32:54Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > …you are not physically moving through a jazz dimension. You didn’t smoke enough reefer, Daddy-o. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/7 "2021-05-01T00:36:19Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If you are into jazz, you are not physically moving through a jazz dimension. You are if Rod Serling says it. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/8 "2021-05-01T01:30:20Z")
> **[Sunrise and Sunset (In a Jazz Dimension) - Listen - Freedom Sounds Radio](https://chartable.com/podcasts/freedom-sounds-radio/episodes/71241438-sunrise-and-sunset-in-a-jazz-dimension)** > > Listen now to Sunrise and Sunset (In a Jazz Dimension) from Freedom Sounds Radio on Chartable. See historical chart positions, reviews, and more. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/9 "2021-05-01T04:37:59Z")
Here’s the way I see it– “Into” is a colloquial term for “liking something.” “In to” refers to physical movement. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/10 "2021-05-01T04:55:52Z")
Gallant: “He went in to escape the rain.” Goofus: “He went into escape the rain.” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/11 "2021-05-01T05:02:43Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > In to” refers to physical movement. So does “into” “In to” means to go in somewhere to do an action (verb) “Into” means to go inside a place or thing (noun) ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/12 "2021-05-01T05:18:04Z")
I think the first one in the OP is right. I think the second should be in to. The reason is that I think “going in” is the idiom. He went in, she’s going in. To work, to school tomorrow. They are separate phrases to me. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/13 "2021-05-01T07:13:08Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > So I would write “I’m really **into** this” (one word). > > But I would say “Are you going **in to** work today?” because “in” and “to” do function as separate words: > “Are you going in today?” > “In where?” > “To work.” @Thudlow_Boink is correct: “I’m going _in to_ work today.” It may _feel_ like you should use _“into”_ here (based mostly on how easily the syllables roll together), but that’s incorrect. The words should be separate and discrete in this usage. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/14 "2021-05-01T07:30:30Z")
If you take ‘going in’ as a phrasal verb, then ‘going in to work’ is correct. You could equally well say,      I’m _ **going** _ to work      I’m _ **going in** _ to work ‘Going in’ is a verb on it’s own, even though it’s two words. However, in sentences like ‘I’m going into the bedroom’, ‘into’ is correct because it indicates entering a place. In the one case ‘in’ is part of a phrasal verb, in the other ‘into’ is a preposition. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/15 "2021-05-01T10:47:06Z")
By the time I read the first half-dozen replies, I realised that I had no idea which is correct. As with so much grammar, I just use what looks right to me, fully appreciating that other’s (including grammar correction apps) may disagree. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/16 "2021-05-01T11:00:37Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > As with so much grammar, I just use what looks right to me, fully appreciating that **other’s** (including grammar correction apps) may disagree.   😄 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/17 "2021-05-01T12:30:46Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > However, in sentences like ‘I’m going into the bedroom’, ‘into’ is correct because it indicates entering a place. If “work” is used as a place then it would also be “I’m going into work.” just as you would say “I’m going into school.” ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/18 "2021-05-01T12:59:08Z")
There’s a difference. I’m going in to work = I’m travelling to my workplace I’m going into work = I’m now entering work, or my workplace I’m going in to school = I’m travelling to school I’m going into school = I’m now entering the school grounds In the first case the verb is ‘going in’ and the preposition is ‘to’. In the second case the verb is ‘going’ and the preposition is ‘into’. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/19 "2021-05-01T13:49:09Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > I’m going into work = I’m now entering work, or my workplace Why the “now”? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131/20 "2021-05-01T13:57:57Z")
Some people have to work on Saturdays. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-to-vs-into/941131.md?page=2)