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Learn English Grammar: When to use an ‘-ING’ word after ‘TO’
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Learn English Grammar: When to use an ‘-ING’ word after ‘TO’

Understanding "To" Followed by an -ing Form

The Role of "To" in English Grammar

  • Adam introduces the lesson focusing on the use of "to" followed by an -ing verb, clarifying that "to" can function as a preposition rather than just indicating an infinitive.
  • He explains collocations, emphasizing that certain phrases like "look forward to" are commonly used together and must be followed by an -ing form.
  • The distinction between "to" as a preposition and as part of the infinitive is highlighted, with examples illustrating how prepositions require objects.

Examples of Prepositional Use

  • Adam provides examples such as “admit to cheating” and “object to being filmed,” demonstrating how these constructions require gerunds or nouns as objects.
  • He discusses preferences using “prefer jogging to swimming,” showing that comparisons can also involve gerunds following "to."

Recognizing Adjective Participles

Understanding Participles in Context

  • The lesson shifts focus to participles used as adjectives, explaining their role in sentences through examples like “the company is committed to providing.”
  • Adam emphasizes the importance of identifying independent clauses and complements when constructing sentences involving participial phrases.

Complements vs. Objects

  • He clarifies that while independent clauses convey complete ideas, adding complements (like “providing top quality customer care”) enhances clarity without being grammatically necessary.
  • Common collocations such as “committed to” and “used to” are discussed, reinforcing their need for completion with gerunds.

Habitual Expressions with Prepositions

Usage of "Used To"

  • Adam differentiates between habitual expressions like “I am not used to being interviewed,” noting that they often require additional context for clarity.
  • He explains cultural nuances regarding habits, using examples like people being accustomed to removing shoes indoors.

Clarifying Prepositional Phrases

  • Further examples illustrate how prepositions function within sentences; for instance, “the neighborhood was divided into warring factions” shows how adjectives can serve as objects in this structure.

Final Thoughts on Grammar Concepts

Summary of Key Points

  • Adam reiterates the importance of understanding whether "to" functions as a preposition or part of an infinitive verb when followed by an -ing form.
  • He stresses that comprehending independent clauses and complements is crucial for mastering these grammatical structures.

Encouragement for Further Learning

  • Viewers are invited to engage further through quizzes on inkvid.com and encouraged to subscribe for more grammar lessons tailored for various learning levels.
Video description

Do we always use a verb after ‘to’? The answer is NO! In this English grammar lesson, I will teach you how ‘to’ can be followed by a noun, a preposition, an adjective, an adjective participle, and more. We will look at this grammatical structure in several sentences that serve different purposes. For example, we can express anticipation by saying “I look forward to meeting with you next week.” We can express a preference by saying “I prefer jogging to running.” Or we can express an obligation by saying “I need to get around to finishing my essay.” Watch the video for these and lots more useful ways to use ‘to’ plus an ‘-ing’ word ending. Then take a quiz on this lesson at https://www.engvid.com/english-grammar-ing-after-to/ Next, watch these important grammar lessons: 1. THE CAUSATIVE in English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0YOITIDdKY&list=PLxYD9HaZwsI5C0d8CivHvoI_-0rs8XMfc&index=94 2. How to use IF & WHETHER properly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klnroe1UBRs&list=PLxYD9HaZwsI5C0d8CivHvoI_-0rs8XMfc&index=65 TRANSCRIPT Hi. Welcome to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam. Today's lesson is a bit of a grammar lesson; a specific point I'm going to look at. And this is "to" followed by an "ing" word or an "ing" verb, it looks like. Right? And for some people this is very confusing because they automatically see "to", and they think it should be followed by a verb. Okay? Now, the one thing that a lot of people forget is that "to" can be a preposition, and that is what you're going to be looking at when you're looking at "to" with an "ing". But there are also some things you have to remember. You have to keep in mind that there are certain collocations. A "collocation" is basically a set of words-a pair, or three, or four words-that just generally go together to have a particular meaning. Right? So, for example: "look forward to" - these three words generally go together, and they're going to be followed by an "ing". "I look forward to meeting you." Now, where people get confused is they see a verb, and then they see the "to", and they're automatically thinking of another verb. But, here, this "to" is not part of the infinitive. There's two uses for "to": Preposition, and the infinitive "to". Right? Part of the infinitive verb. What you have to remember is that preposition. "Admit to"... "Admit"... "The student admitted to cheating on the test." So: "Admitted to", what? Remember: The preposition needs an object, and that's what you're going to be answering when you answer the question: "What?" And objects in this particular case are going to be nouns or they're going to be gerunds. They can also be active participle adjectives, but I'll talk about that in a second. "Admit to cheating", "Object to being filmed", for example. So, somebody... I'm a politician and I see a camera coming, and I say: "No, sorry. I object to being filmed. You can ask me questions, but don't film me", basically. "Get around to" means you will do something. Okay? So: "I'll get around to handing in the proposal later today." Okay? So, basically what you have to do is just remember these collocations. Where it gets a little bit trickier is when you have adjectives. But before that, "prefer" I forgot to mention. -"I prefer jogging to swimming." -"Do you like jogging?" -"Well, I prefer it to swimming." Right? So it doesn't have to be an "ing"; it can be "it" mentioned before, and then "to", "ing". But this is a comparative "to", preposition. And, again: "to", what? "To" the noun or gerund. So, this is a gerund. It's not a verb, and that's why you can... It can follow "to". Okay? Now, let's look at a little... Something a little bit trickier, and I'll show you a general rule on how you can recognize whether to use "to" as a preposition or a verb. Now we're going to look at something a little bit different. Okay? We're going to look at adjective participles. Now, "participles" are basically verbs that are used as adjectives. They can be, like, "ed" or irregular verb, and they can be "ing" verbs; passive and active - that's, you know, a different lesson on participles. But you have to also pay attention to how they're being used in the sentence. Let's look at an example: "The company is committed to providing top-quality customer care." So, here, we have a verb: "commit", and we have: "is committed to". But, here, we're not actually looking at it as a passive verb; we're looking at it as more like an adjective. "The company is committed", right? So, this is telling you about the company. It's like a subject complement; it's acting like an adjective. And, here, this is a complement. So, basically what does this mean? You have to look and see: What is your independent clause first? Right? And you should know independent clauses by now; and if you don't, I have a video on that as well. So, here: "The company is committed". This is a complete sentence: "The company is committed." To what? I don't know yet. […]