Prepositions are words that play a vital role in sentence structure and meaning. They help establish relationships between different elements in a sentence, such as nouns, pronouns and phrases, by indicating location, time, direction, possession and more. Prepositions can be challenging to non-native speakers of English due to their nuanced use. Because prepositions tend to vary across languages, it is very difficult to give an exclusive translation from say Polish to English, or Spanish to English, and one preposition frequently translates to two or three in another language, and vice versa.
Mastering prepositions is essential in clear and accurate communication because the use of an inappropriate preposition in combination with a certain verb can distinctly alter the intended meaning of a sentence. For more details on prepositions in general, please see the relevant post. Learning the various contexts in which prepositions are used is the mark of an advanced speaker of a language; there are around 150 prepositions altogether in the English language, but the most commonly used and confused are ‘along’, ‘at’, ‘by’, ‘during’, ‘for’, ‘from’, ‘in’, ‘of’, ‘on’, ‘to’ and ‘with’.
This post is going to focus on the preposition: in.
The origins of the word
The word ‘in’ can be traced back to its origins in Old English. It was spelled as ‘inn’, which was derived from the West Germanic root ‘inni-‘. This root is related to similar words in other Germanic languages that influenced Old English due to their invasion of the British isles during the fifth and sixth centuries, and the mixing of languages such as Old Saxon ‘in’, and Old Norse ‘i’ with Old English.
The Old English word ‘inn’ had a similar meaning to its modern counterpart, indicating location within a place or enclosed space. Over time, the spelling evolved to ‘in’, but the essential meaning remained largely unchanged. However, the use and versatility of the preposition ‘in’ have continued to develop and expand over time. Today, ‘in’ remains a fundamental preposition used to express a wide range of relationships of location, time, manner and more in the English language as detailed in the following sections.
Location
‘In’ is used to indicate a position within an enclosed or bounded space:
- The book is in the drawer.
- The cat is sleeping in the box.
Geographical areas
‘In’ is used with names of countries, cities and regions to indicate location:
- He lives in Canada.
- The conference is in London.
Transportation
‘In’ can indicate the mode of transportation:
- They travelled in a car.
- She prefers to fly in a private jet.
Time
‘In’ is used to indicate periods of time, including months, seasons, years and parts of the day:
- She was born in March.
- We will go camping in the summer.
- The party will be in 2023.
- He likes to take a walk in the evening.
Inclusion or membership
‘In’ is used to denote being part of a group, organisation or category:
- She is a member of the A-team in our company.
- The word ‘apple’ is in the dictionary.
Influence or impact
‘In’ can express being affected by something or influenced by a situation:
- He is in love.
- The city is in chaos.
- She is in good health.
Purpose or use
‘In’ can indicate the purpose or use of an object:
- He uses a knife in cooking.
- She found her keys in opening the drawer.
Means or method
‘In’ can indicate the means or method used to accomplish an action:
- The thief broke in by picking the lock.
- She communicated with her friend in sign language.
Language
‘In’ can indicate the language spoken or used:
- They spoke in Turkish.
- The document is written in Arabic.
Involvement
‘In’ can also indicate involvement in an activity or situation:
- I am in a meeting at the moment.
- Are you interested in joining the club?
Belief or interest
‘In’ can indicate one’s belief, interest or opinion about something:
- She believes in ghosts.
- He is not interested in sports.
Future prospective
‘In’ can denote the potential of something happening in the future:
- They have plans to invest in property.
- In time, you’ll understand.
Expression of quantity
‘In’ can express quantity or frequency:
- The shop sells peaches in bags of five.
- He exercises three times in a week.
Mathematics
Finally, ‘in’ is used to indicate inclusion within a set or range:
- The number 7 is in the set of prime numbers.
- The temperature will be in the range of 20-25 degrees.
Phrasal verbs and collocations
A phrasal verb is a native English expression containing a verb and a preposition (and sometimes also an adverb or other parts of speech); it is a phrase that functions as a verb. The English language, along with a number of other Central European languages, but perhaps slightly more so, is notorious for having a large number of phrasal verbs. The following are some of the better known verbs that collocate with ‘in’, along with some phrasal verbs with their definitions provided.
- Fill in
- Hand in
- Take in = internalise information, physically take in an object or person
- Move in
- Drop in = visit
- Check in = to arrive and register somewhere
- Pop in = briefly go in
- Move in
- Join in = take part
- Step in = replace
- Result in
- Cash in = to settle accounts or to withdraw cash
- Believe in
- Fit in = adapt
As is common with phrasal verbs, these examples are not all simply a collocation of a verb and a preposition, and some of these word combinations are puzzlingly not entirely true to their literal meanings!
Conclusion
These are some of the principal ways in which the preposition ‘in’ is commonly used, although it may have additional applications depending on the context. As you will now have understood, of the three main types of prepositions: temporal prepositions, spatial prepositions and dependent prepositions, ‘in’ has applications in all of these categories.
If one were to translate ‘in’ to its equivalent in some other languages such as Portuguese, Spanish or Italian, some confusion could arise because it can be translated as multiple words, and vice versa for the equivalent forms in other languages. For this reason, it is best to learn English dependent prepositions in context with their best known collocations and most common uses, as detailed in this post!
If you have any comments, questions or requests, please do add them below.
Exercises to practise
Have a go at the following exercises to see whether ‘in’ is the correct preposition in the given contexts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Börjars, Kersti, and others. Introducing English Grammar, 2nd edn (Routledge, 2010)
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Cresswell, Julia. Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd edn (Oxford University Press, 2021)
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language,
3rd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
Dreyer, Benjamin. Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style (Penguin Random House, 2020)
Hewings, Martin, and others. Cambridge English Grammar and Vocabulary for Advanced (Cambridge University Press, 2015)
Huddleston, Rodney, and others. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
Parrott, Martin. Grammar for English Language Teachers, 2nd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
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New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors (Oxford University Press, 2005
Excellent explanation! Very useful! Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi Laura, thanks so much for your comment. Glad you have found this post useful 🙂