[Grammar] INTO and IN

[The apprentice]

Dear teachers and members:


1°) As stated by books and the internet as well, INTO means moving toward inside, and IN means being inside, but I have observed that whether INTO and IN are particles of a phrasal verb or not, INTO takes a direct object with it. INTO is only used with transitive verbs; otherwise IN is either used with transitive or intransitive verbs.

a) I saw him when he walked into the convenience store.

b) I saw him walking into the convenience store.

c) I saw him when he walked in.

d) I saw him walking in.

e) He shot her as she was getting into the car.

f) He shot her as she was getting in.

g) They were in the garage.

h) They ran into the garage.

2°) In the following sentences IN and TO are grammatically different parts of speech; IN is part of the phrasal verb used in the below sentences, TO is a preposition connecting the predicate with the clause, which is also part of the clause; at the same time, the connected predicate is the object of the preposition TO.

i) The thief turned in to the police.

j) The government won't give in to the demonstrators demmands.


3°) Ultimately, Can IN take a direct object with it?

 

[probus]

"In" can certainly take a direct object. Examples:

It lies right in the middle.
John found himself in difficult conditions.
My answer would be the same in any circumstances.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

I live in France.

 

[The apprentice]

Thanks for answering Probus:

I° - In your sentences above, the verb LIE is intransitive in that sentence; in the second one, FIND is a copulative verb; it is not taking any action, it is a link between the subject and the predicate.

1) It lies right in the middle. (It is right in the middle).

2) John found himself in difficult conditions. (Jhon was himself in difficult conditions).


II° - In these sentences the verbs are transitive.


a) I laid the English book on the desk. (The action of the verb LAY falls on the direct object THE ENGLISH BOOK).

b) I found an English book under the table. (The action of the verb FIND falls on AN ENGLISH BOOK which is the direct object).

 

[5jj]

have observed that whether INTO and IN are particles of a phrasal verb or not, INTO takes a direct object with it. INTO is only used with transitive verbs; otherwise IN is either used with transitive or intransitive verbs.

a) I saw him when he walked into the convenience store.

b) I saw him walking into the convenience store.

The verb in those two sentences is intransitive.

 

[The apprentice]

Okay 5jj and thank you:


I° - You mean that in the above two sentences, which has two clauses, there is no direct object in them, so each sentence as a whole has no direct object in it; I agree with you, but in those two sentences is INTO not taking a direct object in the subordinate or dependent clauses?

1°) I saw him when he walked into the convenience store.

a) I saw him. (main or independent clause).

b) When he walked into the convenience store. (subordinate or dependent clause)

2°) I saw him walking into the convenience store.

a) I saw him.

b) When he was walking into the convenience store. (in the whole sentence this clause was reduced).


II° - Here in the following sentences they are transitive:

a) He walks into the convenience store.

b) He waked into the convenience store.

c) He was walking into the convenience store.

d) He have walked into the convenience store.

e) He had been walking into the convenience store.


I would appreciate your assistance in this matter, it will help me in undestanding the DIRECT OBJECT absolutely.

 

[5jj]

The verbs are transitive in none of those sentences. There is no direct object in any of them.

 

[SoothingDave]

Okay 5jj and thank you:


In the above two sentences, which has two clauses, there is not a direct object, but if those two sentences is INTO not taking a direct object in the second clause?

Here in the following sentences they are transitive:

a) He walks into the convenience store.

b) He waked into the convenience store.

c) He was walking into the convenience store.

d) He have walked into the convenience store.

e) He had been walking into the convenience store.


I would appreciate your assistance in this matter, it will help me in undestanding the DIRECT OBJECT absolutely.

None of those are transitive. Your "d" is incorrect, the verb should be "has."

A transitive verb takes a direct object. All of your sentences contain a prepositional phrase acting as an adverb. "Into the convenience store" describes how he walks.

"He walked the dog" is a sentence with a transitive verb/direct object. "Dog" is the direct object of the verb "walk."

"He threw the ball" -- "Ball" is the direct object of the verb "threw."

 

[5jj]

"In" can certainly take a direct object.

We normally speak only of a verb taking a direct object.

 

[The apprentice]

Thank you SoothingDave:


1°) Thank you for the correction on the verb HAVE (has) too. You're quite right, those are prepositional phrases acting as adverbs, and consequently answering the adverbial question where:

a) Where does he walk?; b) where did he walk?; c) where was he walking?; d) where has he walked?, and d) where had he been walking?

Where? = Into the convenience store.

2°) Now I just clear up some doubts about the direct object, so the only sentences I wrote with direct object in this thread are the followings:

a) I laid the English book on the desk. (What did I lay on the desk? / the English book).

b) I found an English book under the table. (What did I find under the table? / an English book).


Thanks to all you for your assistance.

 

[The apprentice]

Dear 5jj, now I know a lot better what a direct object really is


In spite of having the word INSIDE in common, the difference between INTO and IN has nothing to do whether there is a transitive or an intransitive verb in the sentence.


This is a very good website to learn about English in general, and it is very quick at giving good answers.