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Prepositions after verbs

Enter into, in, on, by or upon?

Enter is often used without a preposition before a place. Different prepositions after enter have different meanings and are not interchangeable.

Quick answer

Which preposition should follow enter?

Use enter without a preposition before places: enter the room. Use enter into for agreements, discussions, or new situations. Use enter by to describe the route of entry. Enter upon is formal and means begin discussing or dealing with something. Enter in and enter on are limited and context-specific.

She entered into a partnership agreement.
Visitors must enter by the side gate.
The speaker entered upon a new topic.
Please enter the building quietly.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
enter + place

Going into a place

Enter usually takes a direct object without a preposition when talking about places.

They entered the museum at noon.
No one may enter the laboratory without permission.
2
enter into + agreement or discussion

Starting involvement or participation

Use enter into for agreements, negotiations, conversations, relationships, or new situations.

The companies entered into a long-term contract.
I do not want to enter into an argument.
3
enter by + route

Describing the way someone enters

By introduces the method, route, or entrance used to enter.

Guests should enter by the rear door.
The workers entered by a secure passage.
4
enter upon + subject or activity

Formal use meaning begin

Enter upon is formal or literary and means to begin discussing or dealing with something.

The lecture entered upon the history of the region.
She was about to enter upon a new phase of her career.
5
enter in + data

Using enter in in data contexts

Enter in appears mainly when talking about recording information in a system or form, though enter alone is often more natural.

Please enter in your account number.
The clerk entered in the details manually.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
enter into
They entered into negotiations last week.
Standard for agreements, discussions, and new commitments.
enter in
Please enter in the code exactly as shown.
Used mainly in data-entry contexts; enter the code is often simpler.
enter on
The committee entered on a lengthy debate.
Formal and less common variant meaning begin.
enter by
All visitors must enter by the north gate.
Describes the route or entrance used.
enter upon
The author entered upon a discussion of ethics.
Formal expression meaning begin or start discussing.
enter + place
She entered the apartment quietly.
Most common structure for going into a place; no preposition is needed.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Adding into before a place

Enter normally does not need a preposition before a location.

✕ They entered into the room. ✓ They entered the room.

Using enter on for physical movement

Enter on is a formal expression meaning begin, not physically go into a place.

✕ She entered on the building. ✓ She entered the building.

Overusing enter in

In many cases, enter alone sounds more natural than enter in.

✕ Please enter in your name on the form. ✓ Please enter your name on the form.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The firms decided to ___ a partnership.
2. All passengers must ___ the terminal through security.
3. Visitors should ___ the east entrance.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I say enter the room or enter into the room?

Enter the room is standard modern English. Enter into the room is usually unnecessary.

Is enter upon old-fashioned?

It is formal and somewhat literary, but it still appears in careful writing and speeches.

Can enter in be correct?

Yes, especially in data-entry contexts, although enter alone is often more concise and natural.

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