Phrasal verbs · Free lesson
Move in and move out: changing homes
The old apartment is empty. Your boxes are at the new house. Tell a friend where you stopped living and where you began living.
Professor Scott MendozaMeaning in this lesson
move in / move out
Move in: begin living in a home. Move out: stop living there and leave.
Example
“We moved out of the apartment and moved into a house.”
We stopped living in the apartment and began living in a house.
The short answer
Say “We moved in on Monday” when the home is already understood. Name the new home with into: “We moved into a house.” Name the old home with out of: “We moved out of the apartment.”
Follow the change of home, not a short trip through a door.
Move in and move out can stand without a named place. If you add the home, keep the connection: into the new house, out of the old apartment. In this meaning, the home is not a direct object: avoid “move out the apartment.”
Describe each end of the move
We moved out of the apartment on Friday.
We moved into a house on Monday.
We moved in on Monday.
Move in with someone names the person you start living with: “I moved in with my sister.” It does not name the building.
Name the old and new homes
Start with the departure
We moved out of the apartment ...
Add the new residence
... and moved into a house.
Try it now
Choose the right direction
Read all answers and explanations
You began living in a new house on Monday. Choose the sentence.
We moved into the new house on Monday.Into names the home you began living in. Out of reverses the direction; in alone does not clearly express this destination pattern.
Complete: We moved ___ the old apartment.
out ofMove out of names the home you stopped living in. Keep both out and of.
You began sharing a home with your sister. Choose the sentence.
I moved in with my sister.With introduces the person you now live with. Into introduces a place in this home-moving pattern.
Build it yourself
Describe leaving your old home
Use all five pieces. Start with We and say that you no longer live in the old apartment.
Keep out of together before the place. Select a piece again to move it back.
Your moving sentence
0 of 5 piecesYour chosen pieces will appear here.
See a model answer
We moved out of the old apartment.
Out of links the departure to the home you left. The past form moved describes the completed move.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Can I simply say moved in?
Yes, when the listener already knows which home you mean. Add into when you name the destination.
The house was ready, so we moved in.
Is leaving home for an hour moving out?
Not in this meaning. Moving out means you stop living there; a short errand does not change your residence.
I went out to buy bread, then came home.
Take it into your day
Move into a new home; move out of an old one.
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