What’s important to know about check in vs. check-in? Are they the same things but with different punctuation, or are they entirely different from one another? Actually, the former is something someone does, while the hyphenated version is a noun or adjective. Confusing? Read on for a complete understanding of what they mean and how to use them.
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When To Use Check In?
The phrase “check in” has an action verb with “in” used as a preposition or adverb. For instance, you could be meeting or following up with someone. Another possible usage is looking into something such as a neighbor’s dog when they’re away. Yet a third instance could be returning materials you borrowed such as library books.
Those are some possible contexts. You’ll see more in the examples that follow, as well as an indication of how in is being used.
Examples sentences:
- When you arrive at the job site tomorrow morning, please check in with me to see what needs to be done. (adverb)
- Before you begin the exam, everyone will have to check in their cell phones to deter cheating. (adverb)
- Let me check in my wallet to see if I remembered my savings card; it’ll make a big price difference. (preposition)
- Will you check in on the kids to make sure they actually turned their lights out and went to bed? (adverb)
- I’ll check in the morning for signs of any roof damage from the hail that fell during tonight’s thunderstorm. (preposition)
When To Use Check-In
In check-in vs. check-in, the hyphenated version is a noun or a modifier for one. As a noun, the word “check-in” can be a subject, object of a verb or preposition, or a predicate nominative. The examples below will include an example of each, with identifiers.
As an adjective, check-in should precede the noun it modifies. Placing it anywhere else would be awkward, though the audience would probably still figure out your meaning.
Example sentences:
- Check-in is at 4:00, but you can check in earlier if you pay extra for the room to be ready then. (subject)
- We missed check-in at the event and had to go through a major hassle to get in. (direct object)
- At check-in, you’ll receive instructions on where to go and what you’ll need to do once you get there. (object of preposition)
- The worst part of the day will be check-in because it will be crowded and chaotic (predicate nominative)
- The check-in procedure for camp is very organized and detailed, making it a breeze. (adjective)
- The staff at the check-in counter told the passengers that the check-in time at the airport was 5:00 AM.
- The check-in process was tedious; the online check-in registration was faster.
- You can get a copy of your room key at the check-in desk.
- The check-out time is written on the card.
What About Checkin?
If you’re a stickler about good grammar, this is going to frustrate you: you’re absolutely going to see checkin. People will use it in the same ways you’ve seen in the examples. It’s wrong. Nevertheless, you will see it.
You might also see it as a bad misspelling of chicken. At least that might be somewhat amusing.
There actually is a way of properly using checkin, but it requires adding an apostrophe at the end. For example, it’s common in rural dialects for people to drop the g from -ing in spoken language. If you were writing dialect to replicate how someone sounds accurately, you could use checkin’.
Example:
- “I’m just checkin’ to see if you need anything.”
Final Thoughts
Understanding check in vs. check-in just requires knowing your parts of speech and how to use them. Without the hyphen, it’s an action (verb). With the hyphen, you’re using the word as a noun or adjective. And remember that checkin is never correct as a substitute for either, even though you may see it a lot.
