Search results for 'tag:Phrasal verbs tag:Gerunds' matching tags 'Phrasal verbs' and 'Gerunds'

Re: I am looking forward to (meet / meeting)? you

Mister Micawber — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:02:01 GMT

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There must be some way to alert non-native speakers that native teachers of English and trained ESLs generally know what they are talking about.

Did you read this thread, Anon? Do we really have to waste our energies repeating ourselves over and over?

The verb is--> 'to look forward to' = 'to anticipate' (transitive = requires a direct object).So, the direct object should be the gerund (noun) form of the verb 'to meet', i.e. meeting.

The actual problem in this case is, that "to" is a preposition here andNOT part of the infinitive! Therefore the Gerund is required.

The phrasal verb 'look forward to' must be followed by a noun or, as in this case, a gerund, which is a noun equivalent.

Here are just a few cases where to is a preposition, not part of an infinitive. The -ing form is used with all prepositions; to is no exception.

shortcut to learning ...
approach to studying ...
key to learning ...
objection to going ...
secret to knowing ...
path to learning ...
aversion to doing ...
reference(s) to going ...

object to, look forward to, pay attention to, take exception to, taketo, resort to, get around to, contribute to, devote time to, amount to

be:
restricted to, limited to, reduced to, used to, accustomed to, averse to, given to, committed to

Most learners get confused by the infinitive âtoâ, thinking that afterâtoâ the bare form of the verb must be followed. In fact, it's theopposit. A structure with â looking forward toâ is always follow by adirect object (noun or gerund).

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Sometimes I wonder why I am wasting my time here.

Re: Gramatical Mistakes Common to Chinese English-speakers

Hoa Thai — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:14:56 GMT

Hi HbLaw,

Goodman gave a good list. I like to add a few more from my own list of mistakes:

A/an vs. the. For this one alone, there are at least 50 rules!

Verbs that may be followed by infinitives or gerunds, in addition to phrasal verbs.

Countable vs. uncountable. I still struggle with this one, especially when I use abstract words.

Usage of prepositions. This one is the killer! â part of what Goodman listed as âIncorrect choice of wordâ.

Re: got up to

Clive — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 05:10:18 GMT

Hi,

He has got up to protest the gangsters, but I think that is not good for us. They may harm us as well for the only reason we are their neighbours.

I applied this meaning

got up to = get up to sth phrasal verb UK
to do something, often something that other people would disapprove of:
e.g. She's been getting up to all sorts of mischief lately.

Grammatically, you need a noun, or at least a gerund. eg He has got up to protesting/a protest of/about the gangsters

But in terms of usage, there are some problems.

You 'get up to' something trivial. In the example in your definition, 'mischief' is a trivial activity. Protesting about gangsters is not trivial.

Also, by the definition you yourself quote, you 'get up to' something that other people would disapprove of. Protesting about gangsters sounds like something normal people should approve of, unless you live in such a strange and lawless culture that the normal thing is for everyone to be afraid to protest about gangsters.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Posting in here is instrumental to me because....

Goodman — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:15:49 GMT

Cool Breeze wrote:
Goodman wrote:

"Participating on the board ..." is the correct prep. from where I stand.

Hi Goodman

I see. In other varieties of English participate takes in:

parÂ·ticÂ·iÂ·pate, v., -patÂ·ed, -patÂ·ing.
âv.i.
1. to take or have a part or share, as with others; partake; share (usually fol. by in): to participate in profits; to participate in a play.

(RHUD)

However, the noun board takes on:

He is no longer on the board of directors.

Cheers

CB

Hi CB,

_{After rethinking what you said, yes, you are right. "Participate in" in this case is used as phrasal verb but in gerund form.}

_{What I was thinking was, panel, board, forum, roster team etc. all take âonâ as it phrasal preposition. i.e.}

_{on the board, on the roster on the team etc...}

Re: Look forward to + -ing

Wolfrolf — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 04:34:44 GMT

Hi,
Look forward to needs an -ing verb regardless of it being a state verb or a verb of sensation. We know that these verbs are not usually used in continuous tenses but it doesn't mean that they can't be used as gerunds. The problem is that we generally think that gerund (like in 'I like fishing.') and continuous ('I am fishing.') are the same thing.

Gerunds are half verb / half nouns. You can use state verbs as gerunds like in the sentence, 'Knowing she was there he went to see her.'

Continuous tenses can be recognised because they have the verb be as auxiliary verb (be careful with -ing adjectives. 'I am boring.' is not a continuous sentence. It only means that I am not an interesting person.)

As a conclusion, the -ing verb after look forward to and any other phrasal verb is not a continuous tense, it's a gerund so, the restriction of verbs of sensation and state verbs doesn't apply here.

Re: except

Aperisic — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:55:29 GMT

except

The museum is open daily except Monday(s).Preposition? Yes
The government has few options except to keep interest rates high. Conjunction? No, preposition. except (as conjuction) = unless (to keep interest rates high is an option, not a sentence or part of it)

The government has to keep interest rates high except they decide otherwise. Conjunction

It's cool and quiet everywhere except in the kitchen. Preposition? Yes
Everyone was there except for Sally.Preposition? No, an expression.
There is nothing to indicate the building's past, except for the fireplace. Preposition? No, an expression.

There was nothing interesting to do except sit around... . Preposition? Yes

1 There was nothing interesting to do except sit around.

sit around (phrasal verb) is the object of the preposition -- should it not be a noun (sitting around = gerund) regarding its lexical function?

Yes but There was nothing interesting to do except (to) sit around. is OK as well

2 Everyone was there except for Sally. Preposition? No, an expression. except for is usually more indirect, The house was perfect except for the roof, which we quickly fixed.

The prep is "except for"? No, it is an expression that can be used similar to except

except

Inchoateknowledge — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:30:26 GMT

except

The museum is open daily except Monday(s).Preposition?
The government has few options except to keep interest rates high. Conjunction?
It's cool and quiet everywhere except in the kitchen. Preposition?
Everyone was there except for Sally.Preposition
There is nothing to indicate the building's past, except for the fireplace. Preposition

There was nothing interesting to do except sit around... . Preposition?

Let us take these sentences:

1 There was nothing interesting to do except sit around.

sit around (phrasal verb) is the object of the preposition -- should it not be a noun (sitting around = gerund) regarding its lexical function?

2 Everyone was there except for Sally. Preposition

The prep is "except for"?

Re: I am looking forward to (meet / meeting)? you

Clive — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:18:52 GMT

Hi,

pls tell me which is correct sentence

IAM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEET YOU

OR

IAM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU.

Only #2 is correct. The phrasal verb 'look forward to' must be followed by a noun or, as in this case, a gerund, which is a noun equivalent.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: end up

MrPedantic — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 22:48:19 GMT

1. He ended up | in jail.

2. He ended up | a pirate.

3. He ended up | googling on "ended up".

4. He ended up with | some slightly unsatisfactory examples.

Presumably we should take the structure in #1 and #2 as "linking verb + subject complement", while "end up with" in #4 is a phrasal verb.

But what about #3? "Linking verb + subject complement participle"? Or is it a gerund? (We can say "he ended up a-googling", which suggests "gerund".)

MrP

Re: To take part in? To taking part it?

Marius Hancu — Wed, 24 May 2006 13:32:53 GMT

>"to take part in" and "to taking part in"

"to take" is an infinitive of a phrasal verb
"taking" is an ing-form, a gerund, or present participle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participle

A grammar book will tell you more about these terms.