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"Into/In To", "Onto/On To," and "Up To"
"In To" or "Into"?
When the words "in" and "to" appear next to each other in a sentence, writers are often unsure whether to use "into" or "in to." This usually happens when the verb in the sentence includes the word "in" (e.g., hand in, step in, turn in).
More about "In To" and "Into"
Here are some example sentences with "in to":- Paul wanted to hand the purse in to see if there was a reward.
- Paul wanted to hand the purse in to the police.
Example sentences with "into" and "in to":
- Put the fruit in the basket.
- Put the fruit into the basket.
- Put the fruit in to the basket.
- Dive in the water.
- Dive into the water.
- Dive in to the water.
- Dive in to test the water.
"On To" or "Onto"?
The guidelines above apply equally to "onto" and "on to." As a general observation, when "to" follows "on," it usually has its own role to play. This means that "on to" is more common than "in to."Example sentences with "onto" and "on to":
- Dive on the bed.
- Dive onto the bed.
- Dive on to the bed.
- Dive on to sleep for an hour.
- Move on to the next chapter.
- After checking the sheep, we moved onto the cows.
- After checking the sheep, we moved on to the cows.
"Up To" or "Upto"?
Finally, an easy rule: "Up to" is never written as one word.Example sentences with "upto" and "up to":
- I can afford upto 400 pounds.
- It takes up to four hours to hard boil an ostrich egg.
Is It Magic?
Be wary of the verb "to turn into" because it has two meanings. For example:- The car turned into a garage. (This could mean two things. Was the car transformed into a garage or did the car drive into a garage?)
- Turn in to to mean "drive into," "walk into," etc.
- Turn into to mean "transform into."
- He turned the car in to the cul-de-sac.
- He turned the car into gold.
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See Also
adverse or averse? affect or effect? Ms., Miss, or Mrs? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? imply or infer? its or it's? material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? tenant or tenet? who's or whose? What are prepositions? What are verbs? List of easily confused wordsPage URL