The Grammar Guru: Into vs. in to

The Grammar Guru loves getting into the nitty gritty of grammar rules.
The Grammar Guru loves getting into the nitty gritty of grammar rules.

Mekita Rivas, SNR communications associate, publishes a biweekly feature called "Grammar Guru."

Every other week, the Grammar Guru will share writing tips to help make your work as polished as possible. Some of these tips may address common spelling errors, while others will examine the many nuances of the English language.

Grammar Guru Tip #7
The word "into" is a preposition, also known as a linking word that connects nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. When you add "into" in a sentence, you are expected to answer the question of, "Where?" or "What?" The answer could be a physical/nonphysical place or a physical/nonphysical thing.

At times, "in" and "to" just happen to end up next to each other and do not answer the question of, "Where?" or "What?" In these situations, they must remain separate words.

Example:

Chancellor Perlman walked into the conference room and everyone stopped talking.
She quit her job to go into law school, but then she turned into a lazy student.

The man walked in to see his doctor. He hoped he could stop in to ask him a question.

Need some grammar guidance? The UNL Style Guide (http://unlcms.unl.edu/ucomm/styleguide/) is a great resource for all university employees. If you have writing questions that the style guide doesn't answer, feel free to email the Grammar Guru at mrivas@unl.edu.