Turn into means to become something different: The rain turned into snow. With an object, it means to change one thing into another: turn a garage into a studio, and the object always goes between turn and into. People often use it about an unexpected result: a short chat turned into a two-hour meeting.
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turn into + noun; turn + noun/it + into + noun
- What started as a small disagreement quickly turned into a serious argument.
- Last year we turned the spare bedroom into a home office.
- My weekend trip to Paris turned into a two-week holiday.
What changed
First versionThe small café on our street turned in a popular restaurant.
RevisionThe small café on our street turned into a popular restaurant.
Turned in is a common slip, because in looks so close to into. But turn in is a different phrasal verb: to hand in work or to go to bed. A change from one thing into another is expressed with into.
Turn into and turn out are easy to confuse. Turn into means “become”: The hobby turned into a business. Turn out means “prove to be”: The hobby turned out to be expensive. And turn to means to go to someone for help: I turned to my sister for advice.
Your turn
Her weekend baking hobby slowly ___ a small business with twenty regular customers.
Show the answer
turned into — The hobby gradually became a business. That is a change, so turned into. Turned out means “proved to be” and needs to be after it: it turned out to be a business.
Write about a plan or activity that grew into something bigger over time. Say how it started and what it turned into.
A weekly English club with two friends turned into an online community with over three hundred members.
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