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Lakisha A Chichester Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Gerund as object of sentence

Hi

In the following sentence, the word to is incorrect. Why?

The plaintiff maintains that the defendant admitted to hitting plaintiff's car.

The answer key states "gerund as object of sentence."
  

Top answer

According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, admitted to is not wrong. However, if you were asked to make the gerund the object of the sentence, to is wrong because it makes the gerund the object of the preposition of instead of the object of the sentence. CJ

— CalifJim

  • According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, admitted to is not wrong.
  • However, if you were asked to make the gerund the object of the sentence, to is wrong because it makes the gerund the object of the preposition of instead of the object of the sentence.
  • CJ
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2 Answers
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According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, admitted to is not wrong.

However, if you were asked to make the gerund the object of the sentence, to is wrong because it makes the gerund the object of the preposition of instead of the object of the sentence.

CJ
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Thank you for your response.

I believe this is a style issue. Can you elaborate on how hitting becomes the object of the sentence when to is removed, or what situation would make the sentence without the word to the better option.

Thanks

Lakisha
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