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I always wonder whether the sentences which contain multiple *in*s are proper / a good practice. For example,

Edit Ok. May be it was a bad example. Sorry about that. But it's a real question.

I meant to refer to spoken/written sentences which contain fragments like below (* is a noun phrase).

in * in * in *

For ex. (Courtesy @fluently)

I'll look at this issue in closer detail in 15 minutes in my bedroom in the other wing of the inn.

before edit

He studies in the Stephen college in New City in Canada.

Doesn't it look odd? Any better alternatives?

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He studies at Stephen College in New City, Canada. As for "practice", I think you're confusing what's valid grammatically with aesthetics. If something looks or sounds awkward, then try to rephrase it. A major goal of language is to communicate effectively, after all. – Zairja Oct 12 '12 at 18:44
As @Zairja said, your question stems from a failure to use the correct grammar. Since it is effectively the case here, I suggest you to replace your example sentence with the following: "she has to come in in a certain way to home". Otherwise the question could be closed. – Carlo_R. Oct 12 '12 at 19:10
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There are several ways of rearranging it to reduce the number of 'in's. For example "He studies in Canada at New City's Stephen College". – Alan Gee Oct 12 '12 at 19:20
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@Carlo_R.: is that what zairja said? I understood his/her comment to mean that it is certainly grammatical, but unpleasing. – horatio Oct 12 '12 at 20:36
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I'll look at this issue in closer detail in 15 minutes in my bedroom in the other wing of the inn. – user27379 Oct 13 '12 at 2:44
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closed as not a real question by Carlo_R., Mark Beadles, tchrist, Lynn, MετάEd Oct 13 '12 at 6:01

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

English does have its many flavours.

In your case, the sentence can be reworded depending if it is spoken or written. In a written piece, English seldom uses in when describing addresses. The sentence in written form can be reworded to

He studies in the Stephen college, New City, Canada.

In spoken English, you can replace some occurences of in with other words such as at, within and so on. Replacing the ins with these words will make it less "awkward" and may probably pass along a clearer message.

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However, this does not answer the basic question: If there are many in s, would that make it a wrong or bad sentence? I'm not down voting this yet. – Kris Oct 13 '12 at 10:26

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