At, in and to (movement)

We use to when we are talking about movement in the direction of a point, place, or position:

• Let’s all go to the cinema tonight!
• When you come to my place, you’ll see our new pet rabbit.
• [giving directions]
• If you drive to the end of the road, then turn left and park in the first car park on the right …

We often use the combination from … to … when we are talking about moving from one point to another:

• Is it far from your house to the nearest shop?
• How long will it take to get from the hospital to the train station?

warning

Go in is a commonly used phrasal verb meaning ‘enter’. We don’t use it to talk about travelling to or moving in the direction of a place:

• Why don’t you go in? (phrasal verb meaning ‘enter’)
• When did you go to Barcelona? (preposition to)
• Not: When did you go in Barcelona?

We say that we arrive at a place, when we see it as point, but we arrive in a larger area (e.g. a city or a country). We don’t use to with arrive:

• I arrived at the station just in time. (arrive at a place)

• Not: I arrived to the station …

• It was 4 pm when we arrived in Italy. (arrive in a country)

• Not: … when we arrived to Italy.