This is a very important advanced English topic as it could be counter-intuitive. Let’s talk about these expressions followed by the preposition to and the verb + ing:
A Video Summary about Using TO + ing
Usually, ‘to’ makes up part of the infinitive or base form of the verb, for example, to walk, to sit, to go, to sing.
– sometimes, ‘to’ is a preposition, and a preposition must be followed by a noun
‘ing’ is the gerund and is used to express a continuous action, for example, walking, sitting, going, singing.
– the gerund is a word formed from a verb that acts as a noun
We can have expressions in English that use ‘to’ and ‘ing’ together, but only when ‘to’ is a preposition
A few explanations about expressions with TO+ ing
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES: | ||
to look forward to | devoted to | confess to |
to get around to | dedicated to | admit to |
to lead to | committed to | with regard/ respect to |
to be used to | opposed to | to be related to |
to be accustomed to | object to | adjust to |
to contribute to | adapt to | to be addicted to |
Take care when ‘to’ is a particle of the infinitive of the verb:
– I really wanted to going to the cinema yesterday.
This sentence is incorrect because in this case, ‘to’ is not a preposition. We want to express the action we wanted to do yesterday, and we need to full infinitive of the verb.
– I really wanted to go to the cinema yesterday.
This sentence is correct
Exercises About Expressions with TO+ ing
Exercise 1: When is ‘to’ a preposition, and when is it part of the infinitive of the verb? Practice with these sentences by filling the space with either the gerund form or the bare infinitive.
Exercise 2: Match side A and side B to make sentences. Some sentences are expressions using ‘to’ and ‘ing’ together:
Exercise 3: Fill the space with either the gerund form or the bare infinitive.
Back to the top
Fast-track your English with these English grammar reviews from Live-English!