Did she really turn herself into police? | Laura Moyer, The Red Pen

This blog posting emphasizes the importance of correctly using into (one word) and in to (two words). Using them incorrectly can create misleading, confusing impressions for the reader. 

Here's copyeditor Moyer's example of the problem:

I was copy editing last night when this part of a sentence passed before my gaze: “18-year-old Christina Jenkins turned herself into Culpeper police Monday evening.”

I put a space between the words “in” and “to.”

The next sentence was a quote. It began, “Jenkins walked into Culpeper police headquarters about 6:30 p.m. in the company of her mother and surrendered.”

In this case, “into” was right. I left it alone.

Moyer then provides clear advice and examples for using the two terms. I won't repeat it her and encourage you to read her blog instead.


For more advice on word usage as well as use of abbreviations, capitalization, numbers, grammar and punctuation, check out Garbl's Editorial Style Manual.