Troy Posted 23 years ago
Grammar
'To' followed by Gerund or Infinitive
Hi,
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...
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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" I am accustomed to being cold " doesn't sound right. It means someone colds you
eg I am accustomed to being sco
eg I am accustomed to being sco
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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
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
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you are not right, whl626 - "being cold" is a safe consturction, it does not mean being colded by someone!
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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
Thanks for helping.
Troy
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Hi, whl626.
"being cold" sounds as an active form rather than passive to me. Cold is not a verb here.
Thanks anyway.
Troy
"being cold" sounds as an active form rather than passive to me. Cold is not a verb here.
Thanks anyway.
Troy
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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?
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?
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I know Troy
I just meant to say ' I am accustomed to the cold ' is right whereas ... to being cold is not.
Because based on
Because based on
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by asking around, it seems that I am wrong
. Some more native speakers told me that ' being cold ' is perfect.
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Wouldn't it mean that you are a cold person and you are perfectly happy with it?
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@ 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
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