UNIT 123. To/at/in/into

A

To

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We say go/come/travel, etc., to a place or event. For example

go to China
go back to Italy
return to Boston
Welcome (somebody) to (a place)

go to bed
go to the bank
go to a concert

come to my house
be taken to the hospital
be sent to prison
drive to the airport

• When are your friends going back to Italy? (not going back in Italy)
• Three people were injured in the accident and taken to the hospital.
• Welcome to our county! (not Welcome in)

in the same way we say a trip to / a visit to / on my way to …, etc.:
– Did you enjoy your trip to Paris / your visit to the zoo?

Compare to (for movement) and in/at (for position):
– They are going to France. but They live in France.
– Can you come to the party? but I’ll see you at the party

B

Been to

We say “been to (a place)”:
– I’ve been to Italy four times, but I’ve never been to Rome.
– Amanda has never been to a hockey game in her life.

C

Get and arrive

We say get to (a place)”
– What time did they get to London / get to work / get to the party / get to the hotel?

But we say arrive in … on arrive at … (not arrive to).
We say arrive in a town or country:
– They arrived in Rio de Janeiro / in Brazil a week ago.

For other places (buildings, etc.) or events, we say arrive at:
– When did they arrive at the hotel / at the airport / at the party?

D

Home

We say go home / come home / get home / arrive home / on the way home, etc.
(no preposition).

We do not say “to home”:
– I’m tired. Let’s go home now. (not go to home)
– I met Linda on my way home. (not my way to home)

E

Into

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Go into, get into …, etc. = enter (a room / a building / a car, etc.):
– I opened the door, went into the room, and sat down.
– A bird flew into the kitchen through the window.

With some verbs (especially go/get/put) we often use in (instead of into):
– She got in the car and drove away. (or She got int the car …)
– I read the letter and put in back in the envelope.

The opposite of into is out of:
– She got out of the car and went into a shop.

We usually say get on/off a bus / a train / a plane (not usually get into / out of):
– She got on the bus and I never saw her again.