Hand in means to give finished work to a teacher or manager, for example hand in your homework. The second meaning is to officially give an item or document to someone: take a wallet you found to the police, or hand in your notice when you leave a job.
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hand in + homework/essay/report; hand it in; hand in + item + to + police/reception; hand in your notice
- Please hand in your essays at the end of the lesson.
- Someone found my wallet on the train and handed it in to the station staff.
- After five years at the company, she handed in her notice and moved abroad.
What changed
First versionI handed in my driving test the first time.
RevisionI passed my driving test the first time.
Hand in can look like a general word for dealing with exams, but it only means giving work or an item to someone, not succeeding in a test. If you succeeded in an exam, use pass: I passed my driving test. If you are about to do it, use take: I'm taking the test tomorrow. So handed in is replaced with passed.
Hand over also means to give, but from hand to hand or together with control: The robber made him hand over his wallet. Hand in suggests that you give work or an item to someone who officially receives it: a teacher, a receptionist, the police.
Your turn
When the time was up, we put our pens down and ___ our exam papers to the teacher.
Show the answer
handed in — The papers go to the teacher, so handed in. Handed out means 'gave out to everyone': that is what the teacher does with the papers before the exam.
Write about a task you need to hand in at work or school. Say what the work is, who you have to give it to and by when.
I have to hand in my marketing report to my manager by Wednesday morning.
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