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The usage of the 'to'.
'I am personally committed to steering real change on these matters.' Why does '-ing' come after the word 'to'? Would not it be 'committed to steer' ?
Can anyone tell me why we use '-ing' after 'to' ? Thank you from now on.
Dec 18, 2018 8:52 AM
Answers · 6
2
The -ing form can also be a noun. This is called the gerund. In this case, steering is a noun that means the action of steering.
The word "to" is not important here. What is important is the phrase "committed to." That phrase is followed by a noun.
I am committed to my family.
I am committed to saving money.
They are committed to ending poverty.
December 18, 2018
1
"to" can be a preposition or part of an infinitive.
Examples:
Joe goes TO THE OFFICE every day. (The verb "to go" is usually followed by the preposition "to" and a destination.)
Joe wants TO WORK for the government. (The infinitive "to work" is the object of the verb "wants.")
Verbs ending in "-ing" can be a verb in a past, present, or future continuous form, a present participle, or a gerund (a verb form which functions as a noun). Gerunds can be subjects, objects of a verb, and objects of a preposition.
Examples:
Joe likes chocolate. (object = chocolate (noun))
Joe likes to eat chocolate. (object = to eat chocolate (infinitive plus infinitive object))
Joe likes eating chocolate. (object = eating chocolate (gerund plus gerund object))
Joe is eating chocolate. ("eating" is the verb "to eat" in the present continous form)
Now the sentence in question.
I am personally committed to steering real change ...
committed to = verb plus preposition "to"
steering = gerund (object of preposition "to")
December 18, 2018
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Nadide
Language Skills
English, Russian, Turkish
Learning Language
Russian
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