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into ~ in  to:

[‘into’ is said as one word; ‘in  to’ with a short pause between the two words]

“Into” (one word) is a preposition and introduces adverb phrases.

There are so many adverb phrases and expressions the preposition ‘into’ introduces that it is not possible to mention them all in this limited space.  Moreover, the golden rule is that it is not the ‘word’ that is important but the ‘context’ it is used in.  Therefore, we are advised to understand the word first and then follow its usage closely and make a note of it whenever we come across it in any standard texts.

Nevertheless, a few examples are given below to get some general idea of its usage:

e.g.

People go into rooms, shops, houses, etc.

A young child fell into the pool.

The customer flew into a temper when he was not attended properly.  [i.e. the customer became very angry because nobody asked him what he wanted]

The children tore up some important papers into pieces!

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It is the same case with “in  to” (two words); however, there are two important points that we should learn in particular.

They are:

1.

when ‘in’ is an adverb attached to the verb (to form adverbial phrase) and ‘to’ is a preposition introducing the phrase;

2.

when ‘to’ is a part of an infinitive, i.e. “to infinitive”,

e.g.

“Entries for the contest should  be sent in to the editor on or before Friday.”  (not sent ‘into’ the editor) {‘be sent in’ – one part; ‘to the editor’ – another part}

They  have gone in to dinner .  (not gone ‘into’ dinner) {‘gone in’ – one part; ‘to dinner’ – another part}

She came in to report  the matter.  (not came ‘into’ report) {‘came in’ – one part; ‘to report’ – another part}

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