Prepositions of movement: to / at / in / into

At / in tell us where someone is (position). To tells us where someone goes (destination) — after movement verbs like go, come, walk, drive, fly, travel, move, return.

• My dad drives to work every morning.

• Are you coming to the party on Saturday?

• We flew to Bangkok for the holiday.

• Can you take this parcel to the post office?

💡Some languages need no extra word between “go” and a place, so learners often drop to or use at by mistake: “I go at work”. Whenever you move towards a place, use to: go to work, go to the market, go back to my hometown.

After a movement verb, home takes no to: go home, come home, get home, walk home. The same goes for go there, come here, go abroad, go downstairs. But a particular person's house still needs to: go to Lan's house. And being there is at home.

• I'm tired. Let's go home.

  not: go to home

• What time did you get home last night?

• My cousin wants to go abroad to study.

• Stay at home if you feel sick.

  being there: at home

Arrive doesn't take to. Use arrive in + a city or country, and arrive at + a building or a place like an airport, a station, a hotel or a party. Get to (= reach) does take to, except get home. Reach goes straight before the place, with no preposition.

• We arrived in Hue just after midnight.

• What time does the train arrive at Hanoi station?

• How do I get to the night market from here?

• Call me when you get home.

Into = moving from outside to inside; out of = moving from inside to outside. In usually shows position (already inside).

• She walked into the room and turned on the light.

• The children jumped into the pool.

• He took his phone out of his pocket.

• Everyone ran out of the building when the alarm rang.

After put, jump, get, fall, people also often use in to mean “into” — both are correct: Put the milk in / into the fridge. But after position verbs like be, live, sit, stay, use only in: The milk is in the fridge.

• Mum got into the car and fastened her seat belt.

• We got on the train in Hanoi and got off in Vinh.

• Get off the bus at the third stop.

• He got out of the car and opened the gate.

• Put your helmet on before you get on the motorbike.

💡English chooses the preposition by the type of vehicle: small ones you climb into (car, taxi) → in / out of; big ones you can walk around in, or ones you sit on top of (bus, train, motorbike) → on / off. The same goes for being there: in the car, on the bus.

• ✗I go to home at five.

  ✓I go home at five.

  home after a movement verb takes no to.

• ✗We arrived to Hanoi at night.

  ✓We arrived in Hanoi at night.

  arrive in + city; don't say arrive to.

• ✗She got off the taxi.

  ✓She got out of the taxi.

  Car, taxi → get out of.

• ✗My mum goes at the market every morning.

  ✓My mum goes to the market every morning.

  Moving towards a place → to.

• ✗Let's get in the bus.

  ✓Let's get on the bus.

  Bus, train, plane → get on.