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Penicillin Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

to + verb-ing

Hello

When should we put -ing to verbs following preposition "to"?

Examples:

- I look forward to reading your sentence.

- I want to go.

I'm confused.

Thanks
  

Top answer

" has to be followed by a noun (as in " I look forward to lunch "). The "-ing" form of a verb can handily act as a noun, meaning "the act of doing whatever it is", and so can fit the sentence. The same goes for any sentence where a noun is required after "to" -- such as " I can't get used to being single again ", " I admit to eating all the pies ", etc.

— Mr Wordy

  • " has to be followed by a noun (as in " I look forward to lunch ").
  • The "-ing" form of a verb can handily act as a noun, meaning "the act of doing whatever it is", and so can fit the sentence.
  • The same goes for any sentence where a noun is required after "to" -- such as " I can't get used to being single again ", " I admit to eating all the pies ", etc.
  • " I look forward to read your sentence " is wrong because "read" can't act as a noun (at least, not in this sentence).
  • On the other hand, " I want to...
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10 Answers
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"I look forward to..." has to be followed by a noun (as in "I look forward to lunch"). The "-ing" form of a verb can handily act as a noun, meaning "the act of doing whatever it is", and so can fit the sentence. The same goes for any sentence where a noun is required after "to" -- such as "I can't get used to being single again", "I admit to eating all
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Mr Wordy"I look forward to..." has to be followed by a noun (as in "I look forward to lunch").
I realised later that "lunch" was a poor example to choose, because "to lunch" can sometimes be a verb. Oh well...
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Unfortunately, there is no golden rule to learn them; as usual in life: JUST PRACTICE (read! as much as you can, and be attentive to grammar constructions, patterns, collocations, etc.)

Some examples of Base Verb + to + ING form:

- Resort to doing (or to do)
- Admit to doing
- Take to doing
- Confess to doing
- Get to doing

Check on a decent
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even if you are anonymous, to me this was the best answer on this page.
PS. another one is:
when it comes to + ING form. (i.d. when it comes to spending money, Matt is the best)
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I found an article in yahoo and the title is 'one secret to cooking an amazing steak' . Is it correct?
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AnonymousI found an article in yahoo and the title is 'one secret to cooking an amazing steak' . Is it correct?
Yes, it's correct.
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"I look forward to lunch" is a wrong. You can restructure it to, "I look forward to having lunch"
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Anonymous"I look forward to lunch" is a wrong. You can restructure it to, "I look forward to having lunch"
I look forward to having lunch is perhaps better, but I look forward to lunch would be acceptable in casual speech, especially since the speaker might be referring to their lunch break as well as their
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