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Preposition: In
1. In indicates location inside or within something else.
Pattern 1: verb + in + noun
We live in that house.
The pencils are in the box.
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Nouns commonly used after in:
Geographical areas
city, continent, country, state, town
He lives in Seattle, Washington, in the U.S.A.
Comfortable, protected places:
alcove, large chair, cocoon, nest
He sat down in the chair and read his novel.
Inside areas:
attic, balcony, basement, building, corner, hall, kitchen, office, room
She is in her office, in that building, in room 302, in the corner.
Vehicles where the passengers cannot walk around:
car, canoe, helicopter, small airplane, small boat
We went in the car, but they went in a helicopter.
Publications and speeches:
article, book, dictionary, encyclopedia, lecture, magazine, newspaper, speech
He didn't say that in his speech, but I read it in the newspaper.
Pattern 2: be + in + ø noun
He can't come to the phone because he's in bed.
Nouns commonly used after in:
bed, church, class, jail, place, school, town
Pattern 3: verb + noun + in + noun
Put the pencils in the box.
Typical verbs:
drop, get, insert, lay, place, push, put
Typical nouns:
bag, box, drawer, file, folder, notebook, sack, suitcase, trunk, wallet
2. In indicates membership of a group or category.
Pattern: be + noun + in + noun
There are seven people in our family.
Your brother is the expert in that office.
Nouns commonly used after in:
association, category, choir, chorus, club, family, fraternity, group, office, society, sorority
3. In can indicate a period of time.
Pattern: be + in + time period
century in + the She was born in the 1800s.
decade in + the He lived in Arkansas in the 1950s. Life was quieter in the fifties.
month in + Æ He took his vacation in March.
period of the day in + the I work in the morning. My boss works in the afternoon. We relax in the evening.
period of time in general in + the We lived there in the past, and we will live here in the future.
stage of life in + Æ adulthood, childhood, death, health, life, sickness
In childhood she was always in good health.
season in + (Æ) spring, summer, fall, winter
They always go to Europe in (the) summer.
year in + Æ Their son was born in 1994.
during general activities in + one's actions, deeds, dreams, prayers, thoughts
She is always in our thoughts.
Expression:
in advance—before an event
To get tickets to the concert, you have to pay in advance.
4. In can mean after a period of time.
Pattern: in + (number) + noun
She will be here in five minutes.
Expression:
in no time—very soon
He will be here in no time.
5. In can mean movement or transfer from one place into another.
Pattern 1: verb + in(to) + noun
They went in the store.
Verbs often used with this meaning:
burst, butt, come, go, get, jump, move, run, walk
Pattern 2: verb + noun + in + noun
Please pour the juice in the glass.
Typical verbs:
draw, drop, fly, lay, place, pour, pull, push, put, ram, shove, squeeze, throw
Pattern 3: verb + object + in
When you finish your test, hand it in (to the teacher).
Typical verbs:
bring, hand, pass, take, turn
6. In indicates the number of individual parts of something.
Pattern: number + plural noun + in + noun
There are seven days in a week.
There are 100 cents in a dollar.
7. In means during a type of weather.
Pattern 1: in + the + noun
They walked all day in the rain.
Nouns used with this pattern:
cold, fog, heat, humidity, rain, snow, storm, sun
Pattern 2: in + Æ + noun
In hot weather we stay inside.
Nouns used with this pattern:
bad weather, cold weather, foggy weather, good weather, hot weather, rainy weather, sunshine
8. In can indicate separated parts of something.
Pattern: verb + noun + in(to) + plural noun
She cut the cake in twelve pieces.
Verbs commonly used with this pattern:
cut, divide, separate, sever, split
Nouns commonly used after in:
halves, parts, pieces, portions, sections
Expression:
in two—in halves
We only had one candy bar, so we cut it in two and shared it.
9. In can indicate direction.
The girls came in this direction, and the boys went in the opposite direction.
Expression: (adjective, adverb)
in-bound—moving toward the city or town
There was a lot of in-bound traffic this morning.
10. In can indicate ratio.
Pattern: number + in + number
He is one in a million.
Four in ten are employed full-time.
11. In indicates the style or composition of recorded material.
Pattern: in + noun
The letter was written in ink.
They printed the photographs in duplicate.
Nouns commonly used after in:
bold, black and white, capital letters, color, duplicate, ink, italics, lower case, oil, pencil, print, water colors