Just like the difference between “every day” and “everyday,” “into” and “in to” are separated by a single space. And because we literally say “into” and “in to” exactly the same way, it becomes that much harder to tell the difference when we need to write them down. But there is indeed a difference.

Whether you’re writing an essay for school, a news article for online magazine, or a cover letter for a job application, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with into vs in to. You don’t want other people to see you as a chipped coffee cup, do you?

“Into” as a Preposition

Written as a single word with no space, “into” is a preposition. That’s the part of speech for describing relationships, particularly when it comes to position. This can be a literal position (“He sat on the chair.”) or a figurative one (“He’s in a sticky situation.)

In many cases with “into,” you can sometimes replace “into” with just “in” and the sentence will still make perfect sense. Aside from indicating position, “into” is also used in the context of transformation, changing from one thing into another. Here are some example sentences to illustrate:

  • Remember to put your homework into your backpack.
  • I can’t believe he drove into the corner store!
  • Charmander evolves into Charmeleon.
  • Ravage transforms into a cassette tape.
  • Let’s peer into your mind and see what we find.
  • Marie Kondo recommends putting all your clothes into a single pile.
  • The rabbit disappeared into the bushes.
  • Joel stared lovingly into her ocean eyes.
  • My brother moved into our spare bedroom.
  • The ugly duckling changed into a beautiful swan.

“In To” with an Adverb

Whereas “into” is a preposition, “in to” are two words that just happen to be next to one another. The “in” is an adverb, typically modifying the verb that directly precedes it. The “to” is usually a preposition, relating to the words that follow it.

In some instances, you can remove the “in” and the sentence still makes sense. In other instances, the “in” significantly changes the meaning of the verb. “To log” and “to log in” mean completely different things. If the word that follows “to” is a verb, you might be able to replace “in to” with “in order to” and the sentence will still make sense.

Here are some “in to” sentence examples:

  • After you log in to your profile, you can review your matches.
  • Be sure to tune in to our show on Sunday for a big announcement.
  • You need to go in to pick up the order yourself.
  • Call in to book an appointment at your earliest convenience.
  • My sister moved in to help us out with childcare.
  • Please sign in to your account before starting the exercise.
  • Put some of your own money in to encourage more donations.
  • The boss burst in to give Parker a piece of his mind.
  • Citrus is what you should add in to counteract the spiciness.
  • I just decided to drop in to say hello.

Into vs. In to the Grammarverse

Understanding into vs. in to is one of those little grammar rules you may have overlooked. I know I’ve caught myself wondering which to use sometimes too. Do you log in to Facebook? Or do you login to Facebook? Maybe it’s log into Facebook? (It’s the first one.)

Ready more? Do you know the difference between beside and besides? Or is that just beside the point?