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Rishonly Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

to motivating and energizing

Lonnie told Mary Jane that there were four secrets to motivating and energizing the people in her office and he’ll give her the first secret the next time they met.

In the above sentence, is it correct to use "to motivating and energizing"? I feel "to motivate and energize" is the proper usage. Please advise.
  

Top answer

"to" is not the "to" that forms an infinitive there, but a simple preposition. Think of "secret to" as noun and preposition which go together as a unit. This unit is followed by a noun or the gerund form (-ing form) of a verb, which is the noun-like form of the verb.

— CalifJim

  • "to" is not the "to" that forms an infinitive there, but a simple preposition.
  • Think of "secret to" as noun and preposition which go together as a unit.
  • This unit is followed by a noun or the gerund form (-ing form) of a verb, which is the noun-like form of the verb.
  • the secret to success the secret to being successful the secret to a good life the secret to living well Remember: "to" is not always the particle that creates an infinitive, and it is not always a preposition; sometimes it is one; sometimes it is the other.
  • CJ
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5 Answers
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"to" is not the "to" that forms an infinitive there, but a simple preposition.

Think of "secret to" as noun and preposition which go together as a unit. This unit is followed by a noun or the gerund form (-ing form) of a verb, which is the noun-like form of the verb.

the secret to success
the secret to being successful

the secret to a good life
the
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Got it, Calif Jim. In the original sentence, shall we use still use "to motivate and engergize" to get the same meaning?
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No, no, no!!! The point of my post was that the infinitive in that position is wrong!
Don't use "secret to motivate and energize"!

Use "secret to motivating and energizing".

CJ
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CalifJimRemember: "to" is not always the particle that creates an infinitive, and it is not always a preposition; sometimes it is one; sometimes it is the other.
The trouble is: How can I know either it is a preposition or it creates the infinitive?

This confusion is gonna make me crazy! I can't differentiate it! For me its funtion is always to create
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MikaelI can't differentiate it!
Until you begin to get a feel for it, you'll have to remember the expressions that do not take the infinitive.

Did you trace through all the links I directed you to on that other thread about "lend ... to"? There's a list of them there.

CJ
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