Commit to

Question

Hi."Iran has also committed to stop uranium enrichment above a fissile purity of 5%, a US fact sheet said." [From The Guardian.]Is commit to a phrasal verb and stop uranium enrichment an object of the preposition to or to stop is an infinitive following the catenative verb commit?Thank you.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

AnonymousIs commit to a phrasal verb and stop uranium enrichment an object of the preposition to or to stop is an infinitive following the catenative verb commit?

To stop is an infinitive following the catenative verb commit.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, CC, for your useful reply.

Henry74 · Answer

Hello,

May I also ask something about this?
Why isn't to a preposition? Can I not say "I'm committed to this relationship"? Hence "I'm committed to making this relationship work."?

Thank you
H.

Anonymous · Answer

Henry74Hello,May I also ask something about this?Why isn't to a preposition? Can I not say "I'm committed to this relationship"? Hence "I'm committed to making this relationship work."?Thank youH.

That's the doubts I've got when I wrote this post. The CJ's replay simply confirmed what I suspected but wasn't sure. If it's going to be a preposition then the object of it should be something like that: ...committed to stoppage of uranium enrichment or ...committed to uranium-enrichment stoppage. The object of the proposition has to be unequivocally a noun which is not the case with the ...committed to stop uranium enrichment where uranium enrichment is the object of the verb to stop.

CalifJim · Answer

Henry74May I also ask something about this?Why isn't to a preposition? Can I not say "I'm committed to this relationship"? Hence "I'm committed to making this relationship work."?

Correct. The verb commit and the adjective committed work in different ways, unfortunately for the learner of English.

to commit to stop ~ to agree to stop ~ to promise to stop ~ to pledge to stop

to be committed to stopping

CJ

Edit: I did not mean to imply that the form to commit to stopping is wrong. In fact, it is more frequent than the form shown above. The form above seems to come up most often in the meaning of making a pledge to do something.

Clive · Answer

"Iran has also committed to stop uranium enrichment above a fissile purity of 5%, a US fact sheet said." [From The Guardian.]

I have a different opinion.

. . . has committed to stop . . . does not sound correct to my ear.

As I see it, one commits to something, where something is a noun or like a noun..

eg Iran committed (itself) to the agreement.

eg Iran committed (itself) to stopping uranium enrichment . . . .

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, CJ, Clive, Henry74, for your eye-opening replies. Indeed, I've not distinguished between the verb and the adjective. I've checked dictionaries and the web application Fraze.it, put there "committed to do" wording and didn't get any hit there. Maybe, Clive is right that the verb "commit" collocates with the preposition "to" but not with the following it infinitive.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousMaybe, Clive is right that the verb "commit" collocates with the preposition "to" but not with the following it infinitive.

It is probable that "to commit to -ing" is in the majority, but note that it only took me 10 minutes to find these online, so "to commit to [verb]" is certainly being used as well.

The treaty commits each party to defend the other.
UN Women is calling on Governments everywhere to commit to end violence against women and girls.
I commit to make a difference in my community and you can, too!
Elected officials commit to address gun violence head on.
Women's basketball standouts commit to attend Notre Dame.
Evangelical leaders in Peru commit to fight corruption.
Likud MKs call for PM to commit to protect Jerusalem at UN.
Fortune 500 companies commit to accelerate Alzheimer’s prevention research.
Logistics firms commit to protect endangered species.
Ten U.S. cities commit to pursue fossil fuel divestment.
G8 leaders commit to fight against illegal trafficking in wildlife.

CJ

Clive · Answer

Most of those examples sound like headlines, and headlines are often written in a compressed kind of style.

Clive

CalifJim · Answer

CliveMost of those examples sound like headlines

That's what happens when you search on present tense.

Here are others, in the present perfect this time, and all were checked to be sure they were not being used as headlines. They were very easy to find.

Seven colleges and universities have committed to pursue fossil fuel divestment.
Stanford women's volleyball has announced that five student-athletes have committed to attend Stanford in 2000-2001.
I have committed to buy an item (no payment made) but have changed my mind. How do I cancel the transaction ?
We have committed to continue the negotiations for nine months, regardless of what happens on the ground.
Two brands and five agencies have committed to buy AOL's ad placements.
The Doig and Co. team have committed to take on the National Three Peaks Challenge.
...bringing the total number of Prudential-affiliated brokerages that have committed to join Warren Buffett's new franchise.
The developed countries have committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a paltry three per cent from 2011 to 2020.
Once interns have committed to attend Flame of Fire Bible School and received their acceptance letter, ...
Most City Council candidates have committed to end a corrupting practice.
Once you have committed to buy an item on eBay you are contractually obliged to pay for it.
For the future, we have committed to serve only farm and ranch products that are sustainably grown ...
Most of these countries are in WHO regions which have committed to eliminate measles by 2015 or 2020.

CJ

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