In vs Within – What’s the difference?

The words In and Within are prepositions and are quite close in meaning. As you know well that the words having a similar meaning, appearance and pronunciation often confuse people and lead to grammatical mistakes in sentences. Sometimes it completely changes the meaning of the sentence. In the present post, we shall discuss – What is the difference between In and within and learn how to use them in a sentence.

In vs Within – Difference

The words In and Within are grammatically classified as prepositions. The word In is a simple preposition whereas the word Within is a double preposition. The word Within is made up by combining two simple prepositions i.e. with and in.

These two words are quite often wrongly substituted, the one for the other. This wrong substitution sometimes changes the meaning of the sentence and causes a lot of confusion among the readers and the listeners. These prepositions are not similar in appearance but they seem to have a similar meaning and usage. Here I would like to make it very clear that these two words are entirely different in meaning and usage. The distinction between these two words is as follows:

The word In is used in the sense of “inside” or “at the end of a period of time” whereas the word Within is used in the sense of “before the end of a period of time”. Within is also used to express range, distance, limitation, and capability. For example:

Example 1 – Gibson reached the station in two hours.

Example 2 – Michel reached the station within two hours.

Example 3 – Stratford is within five kilometers from my office.

Example 4 – You should keep your expenses within your income.

Example 5 – We live in the United States of America.

Example 6 – The school children are sitting in the auditorium.

Using In in a Sentence

1. He is in my classroom.
2. I will clean my room in two hours.
3. He is in the courtyard.
4. Jame’s cat is in the house.
5. Ahmed is in the police force.
6. He will be at the restaurant in one hour.
7. I shower in the morning.
8. The vegetables are in the fridge.
9. The squirrel lives in a box.
10. I am in the laundry shop.
11. I will go to my village in summer.
12. I was born in Chicago in 1997.
13. He is alone in this classroom.

Using Within in a Sentence

1. Sharukh thinks within the box.
2. I will clean my room within two hours.
3. We need to live within our means.
4. Jame’s cat is within the house.
5. He is within his rights to ask questions.
6. He will be in the restaurant within an hour.
7. There are 10 ATM machines within 1 Km circle.
8. Peace comes from within.
9. He will inform you within a week.
10. I will come within an hour.
11. The result will be announced within 2 days.
12. She will be able to speak Spanish within a few days.
13. There is no shop within 5 Km of here.