Entering by force or starting suddenly
Use break into for forced entry or sudden actions such as laughter or song.
Break combines with different particles to create phrasal verbs with very different meanings.
Break into often means enter by force or suddenly start an activity. Break for means move quickly toward something. Break in can mean interrupt or train something new. Break through means overcome a barrier. Break away means separate from a group.
These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.
Use break into for forced entry or sudden actions such as laughter or song.
Break for means run or move suddenly toward a place.
Break in can mean interrupt a conversation or make shoes, engines, or animals become comfortable and usable.
Use break through for physical or abstract barriers.
Break away expresses separation or independence.
The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.
Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.
The two phrasal verbs have different meanings.
✕ They broke in the bank. ✓ They broke into the bank.Break for means move toward something, not enter illegally.
✕ The thief broke for the apartment. ✓ The thief broke into the apartment.Break away usually needs from before the group or system.
✕ The company broke away its partner. ✓ The company broke away from its partner.Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.
Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.
Yes. People can break into laughter, tears, applause, or song.
Usually yes when you name the group or system being left.
Break through emphasises overcoming a barrier, while get through is broader and often less dramatic.
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