in
part of speech
preposition; adverb (come in); adjective (in fashion)
meaning for a pupil
1) In shows that something is inside something else: in the box. tree →
2) In shows a time: in June, in the morning, in five minutes. tree →
3) In shows a way or a state: in pairs, in red, in a hurry. tree →
4) In shows a part of a whole: one in ten. tree →
5) As an adverb, in means inside or at home: Come in! tree →
6) (casual) «In» means fashionable or popular: big hats are in; «I'm in» means count me in, I'll join. tree →
7) (casual) «In on» means sharing a secret or a plan; «be in for it» means be in trouble. tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice says «within», «contained within», «in respect of», «in the course of», «in the aggregate», «in excess of». tree →
9) In time means early enough, not late. tree →
sense in the lessons
inside a box or bag; in «in all», «in total» = a total; in «in each» = the size of one equal group («4 apples in each bag»); «1 in 10» is a part of a whole; in everyday life «come in», «in time», «in front of», «in order», «give in» (stop arguing); in safety «stay in the car»; in casual talk «I'm in», «you're in for it now»; in the exam voice «within», «contained within», «in excess of» (more than)
examples
- There are 5 books on the table and 2 in the box; 5 + 2 = 7 books in all. tree →
- 3 bags with 4 apples in each bag … tree →
- How many pupils are in the class? tree →
- The cat is in the basket. tree →
- My birthday is in March. tree →
- Work in pairs, please. tree →
- Come in and sit down. tree →
- We will leave in ten minutes. tree →
- In total we raised 100 dollars. tree →
- pizza tonight? im in, that's 5 of us then tree →
- You broke mum's vase? You're in for it now. tree →
- Determine the number of apples contained within 3 receptacles, each holding 4 apples. tree →
- The girls arrived just in time. tree →
note
«in all», «in total» = a total; «in each» = equal groups; «contained within each» in an exam is the same. Trap: alone it carries no clue. «in excess of 10» means more than 10. «I'm in» adds one more person to the count. «in» for inside and for months, years and parts of the day; «on» for days (on Monday); «at» for clock times (at 3).
In the corpora
- Night shifts mean working through the night and sleeping in the day; nurses, drivers, bakers and warehouse workers often do them.
- A promotion is a move up to a more senior job in the same organisation, usually with more responsibility and more pay.
- A pay rise is an increase in pay; some come each year, others have to be asked for.
- Retiring means stopping paid work for good, usually in your sixties, and living on a pension and savings.
- In the UK a strike is legal after a vote, and the disruption is deliberate so that people notice.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «in» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.