I'm confused about when should we use a gerund after 'to', I know that if 'to' is a preposition, then it must either be followed by a gerund or noun, the thing is, I cannot differentiate whether 'to' is a preposition or part of a to-infinitive.
One suggestion was:
"It is possible to check whether 'to' is a preposition or part of a to-infinitive: if you can put a noun or the pronoun 'it' after it, then it is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund:
I am accustomed to it (the cold). I am accustomed to being cold."
But I don't know whether or not this suggestion holds true, as I came across some other sentences that I can put a 'noun' or 'pronoun' after 'to', but sometimes the author used infinitive.
Examples: i. Start by committing to (*measure/ measuring) your life based on... ii. I have agreed to (*give/ giving) you a car. iii. I give priority to (do/ *doing) it. iv. The secret to (get/ *getting) everything you want. v. I object to (work/ *working) overtime. vi. The kind of person you're committed to (become/ *becoming)
The words with asteriks are according to the original articles. I feel that I can put an 'it' after 'to' for the examples above, sounds a bit weird to me for number vi if I do so. But examples i and ii are given as to-infinitive.
The first example seems inappropriate to convert 'measure your life based on...' to a noun phrase, so I think it's okay, but the second one I think I can put it as 'I have agreed to "your proposal"' where your proposal is 'giving you a car', but the actual sentence was written otherwise.
For examples i and vi, both are 'commit to', can I use 'become' instead of 'becoming' for vi?
Please enlighten me. Thanks a lot.
Troy, as confused as he can be...
Top answer
" I am accustomed to being cold " doesn't sound right. It means someone colds you eg I am accustomed to being scolded ( it means you are accustomed to someone scolding you ) When ' being ' is used followed by a participle, the sentence is in passive form.
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Wow troy - this is a compex question, and I cant quite see what practical diff it makes for you to know this! maybe if you tried to think in terms of the meaning of the utterance, rather than seeking a universal rule, it might be easier?
English grammar is notoriously slipperly in this respect: the grammatical label a word has is decided by what function it has in its context. A wo
Thanks, Suzi. I just want to learn better English. English native speakers use it naturally without having to ponder like me, I am trying to learn a way to decide quickly either gerund or infinitive should be used when I encounter something like that again. Thanks for helping.
troy i have the same question as u(can i say the same problem than you)i know that i can say im used to living in the US but how to identify the prep. is imposible for me so far,please somebody help us out,
another question ,would i say"the thing that it did to me was confusing me "or confuse me,because after "was"should go a gerund ,shouldnt it?
@ Troy - yes I can see the problem is quite different for non-native speakers - I can't do anything much in any other language and am full of respect for the learners on this site!
So I'll have another think about this
I think the main point I was reaching for is that it is not the word "to" which makes the difference, so much as the meaning of the whole thing, maybe especia