The Grammar Doctor

Q. Which is appropriate in the following: She came INTO the office to see him--or She came IN TO the office to see him.

I've searched the net and I simply cannot find which is preferable--I, for one, think that IN TO is appropriate, but I can't explain to someone else WHY I chose to separate the words.

A. The correct word here is INTO. The difference between IN and INTO is that IN refers to something or someone who is already inside a particular place. INTO refers to someone on the outside coming in.

My sister came INTO the office.

My brother was already IN the office.


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