2008-07-11

The curiosities of prepositions

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I'm working on a poem right now, the first line of which contains either "in to" or "into" ----

The one I select affects the entire line's implications: Am I talking about a man entering a room, presumably a bedroom? Choose the former. Am I talking about a . . . man entering a, ah, vagina? Pick the latter.

See kids, this is why English class is so important. When you're writing an email to your boss, you had better be darned sure you know the difference between "in to" and "into" ----

4 comments:

  1. .

    Ha! You're right--everyone's probably safe.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Um, one walks into a room. Into denotes movement, transition. Now if he's 'walking in to talk to someone' or 'looking in to see who's there' then 'in to' is okay.

    Now go revise that email to your boss. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. .

    This is a very specific situation, Chosha. I'll send it to you if you want. Let me know.

    ReplyDelete