Is it "moved into" or "moved in to"?
I suppose I am confused in general about the use of "into" versus "in to." For this case, though, consider the sentence, "I moved into my apartment today" as opposed to "I moved in to my apartment today." I like the sound of "moved into," but is "moved in" like an idiom that needs to be left in that form to work? Any assistance in sorting out my confusion would be greatly appreciated.
At http://www.thefreedictionary.com/move+in , the Collins entry for 'move in' is:
move in [AHD says this is a phrasal verb] [so, a set expression]
vb (mainly adverb)
- (also preposition) Also (when preposition) move into: to occupy or take possession of (a new residence, place of business, etc.) or help (someone) to do this
I'd prefer them to have
move in
vb (multi-word) (mainly used without an object)
- (can also be used in this sense with an object) (the variant move into is usually preferred though when used with an object): to occupy or take possession of (a new residence, place of business, etc) or help (someone) to do this
They moved in last Thursday.
We're moving into a new flat next week.
Notice that 'move into' in We're moving into a new flat next week. has a different meaning from 'move' + 'into' in say The basilisk moved into the side-passage.
The verb is move. Into is a preposition complemented by my apartment. The construction contrasts with that found with a phrasal verb like give in, which requires to to be written separately in a sentence like I gave in to temptation, and had another beer.
If you mean "to switch residences," then make it two words because move in is a phrasal verb there. Prepositions in phrasal verbs become adverbs, and therefore, it is wrong to mix the adverb in in the verb move in with the preposition to. If you mean "to walk into the building," then make it one word because the verb there is move, and into tells us where you have moved (walked).
I'm sure you mean "to change residences," so make it like so.
I have moved in to my new apartment today.
Sources
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/move-in
http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/definitions/into-vs-in-to/#comment-65310
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/in-to-or-into?page=1 (reasoning)