In vs. into? She's sprayed some vanilla into her mouth [closed]
I'd like to ask a question about the use of in vs. into.
Which usage is more correct when I mean that she's sprayed some vanilla in her mouth and swallowed it?
She's sprayed some vanilla in her mouth.
She's sprayed some vanilla into her mouth.
In my mind, I picture the use of in as the center or the beginning of her mouth and into going beyond that, deep down her throat and to her stomach as if she's injected herself with it, putting an emphasis to the precision of doing it.
Which one is correct?
If the direct object was let's say a medicine, the emphasis would fall on spray, and the sentence would need to mark movement and direction so into would be better than in.
There is no difference in how far in you get with in or into: in simply suggests location, being in a larger space, while into shows specific movement and direction:
We use in to talk about where something is in relation to a larger area around it:
- Jane is in the garden.
- I’ve left my keys in the car.
We use into to talk about the movement of something, usually with a verb that expresses movement (e.g. go, come). It shows where something is or was going:
- Jane is gone into the house.
- Helen came into the room. (Cambridge)
With some verbs there is no ambiguity whether we use in or into:
With some verbs (e.g. put, fall, jump, dive) we can use either in or into with no difference in meaning:
- Can you put the milk in/into the fridge?
- Her keys fell in/into the canal.
We could consider the verb to spray as belonging to this category, as in your sentence, it is used as a synonym of put, place, merely stating the manner in which she put vanilla in her mouth. The fact that the direct object is vanilla indicates that this is not a technical description of how a medicine is administered to her, but simply the way in which she places the vanilla in her mouth. The emphasis is more on vanilla than on spray. So your sentence would not need the technicality of into:
She's sprayed some vanilla in her mouth. (the vanilla is now in her mouth)