Learn English – Come in or come into or both

prepositions

I haven´t had any problems with "in or into" as well as "in to" until now.

I know how to differentiate the three, but I can´t explain the following examples:

"You can put the milk in/into the fridge!"

"Do not let your skin come in/into contact with the acid!"

This is said to have the same meaning, therefore, one can use both. But why is it the same in meaning, really?

You can´t say "Come into" when asking someone to enter a room, can you?

Best Answer

X to Y means Y is the destination of X's motion.

X in Y means X is surrounded on most sides (or most of a single "side" in the case of a cylinder or sphere) by Y.

Into combines these meanings, X into Y means Y is the destination of X's motion, and that when the motion completes, X will be surrounded on most sides by Y.

You can put milk into the fridge

Anything that's a 3d "box" that contains items works with in. This is valid. Rooms are basically boxes, so it's valid for "Come into the room" as well.

Do not let your skin come into contact with the acid!

Liquids surround things on all sides when items are dunked in them. This is the implication, and it's valid.

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