to, at, in and into

to — Movement Toward a Place or Event

When somebody or something moves from one place to another, use to.

• The sales team flew to Singapore for the trade fair.
• Can you come to the meeting room in five minutes?
• Three employees were taken to hospital after the incident.
• We need to go back to the office before 6 p.m.

The same rule applies to fixed expressions like a trip to, a visit to, on my/your way to, and Welcome to:

• Welcome to our new headquarters! (not Welcome in)
• The visit to the supplier was very productive.
• I called her on my way to the airport.

to (movement) vs. in / at (position)

to tells you someone is going somewhere. in and at tell you someone is already there.

Movement (→)	Position (●)
She’s going to the conference.	She’s at the conference right now.
They moved to Japan last year.	They live in Japan.
I sent the file to head office.	The file is at head office.

been to

Use been to when you talk about places or events you visited in the past.

• I’ve been to our Tokyo branch twice, but I’ve never been to the Osaka branch.
• Have you ever been to a product launch event?

get to and arrive in / arrive at

get to

With get, use to:

• What time did you get to the office this morning?
• We got to the hotel around midnight.

arrive in / arrive at

With arrive, the preposition depends on the place. Use arrive in for cities and countries, and arrive at for buildings, events, and other specific places.

arrive in (city / country)	arrive at (building / event / place)
They arrived in Berlin on Monday.	We arrived at the conference center early.
When did you arrive in Canada?	She arrived at the interview five minutes late.

Do not use arrive to. It is always arrive in or arrive at.

home — No Preposition

With home, do not use any preposition after verbs of movement. Say go home, come home, get home, arrive home, on the way home.

• What time did you get home last night? (not get to home)
• I’ll finish reading this report on the way home.
• She arrived home exhausted after the business trip.

into — Entering a Place

Use into when you talk about entering a room, a building, a vehicle, or similar enclosed space.

• He walked into the boardroom and sat down.
• A delivery person came into the warehouse through the side door.
• Every month, my salary is paid directly into my bank account.

With go, get, and put, you can also use in instead of into. Both are correct:

• She got in the car and drove away. = She got into the car and drove away.

The opposite: out of

The opposite of into is out of:

• He stepped out of the elevator and walked into the lobby.

Buses, trains, and planes: on / off

For public transport and planes, use get on and get off instead of into / out of:

• I got on the 8:15 train this morning.
• You need to get off at the next stop.

Quick Self-Check