I am really confused it "to" is used for infinitive or preposition. I mean im confused where i have to write infinitive(original verb) after "to" and where i have to write noun after "to" for examp

Search from various English teachers...

조효진

I am really confused it "to" is used for infinitive or preposition. I mean im confused where i have to write infinitive(original verb) after "to" and where i have to write noun after "to" for example.. I can say "I am looking forward to going to USA." in the other sentance, i can say " I want to go" , not "I want to going".. How can i distinguish between them?

Corrections · 7

I am really confused if "to" is used for infinitive or preposition.

I mean im confused where i have to write infinitive(original verb) after "to" and where i have to write noun after "to"

for example.. I can say "I am looking forward to going to USA."
in the other sentance, i can say " I want to go" , not "I want to going"..
How can i distinguish between them?

The general rule is that the gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition. e.g. he's good at lying "to" is special because it is part of the to-infinitive, but when "to" is not part of the infinitive, then it must be followed by gerund. The origin of your confusion is that there are some phrasal verbs that include "to" as a preposition not as part of a to-infinitive e.g. to look forward to, to be used to, to take to etc. You just need to remember a few most used phrasal verbs ending in "to" and you're done

I am really confused it "to" is used for infinitive or preposition.

I want to go to the USA (wish to go)

I'm looking forward to go to the USA (looking forward to see the USA)

I'm looking forward to going to the USA (looking forward to going on this trip)

I sent u a message. check them plz thank u:)

Yes, that can be confusing! You need to disginguish between the gerunds and the infinitives. This part of the grammar is covered in the book which I can send you. In general the prepositions are followed by a noun object of the verb and often that is a gerund. A verb followed by a second verb is an infinitive; have to, need to, want to, like to are the most common. Contact me and I will give you the book. My Skype: brian.madden4

Want to progress faster?

Join this learning community and try out free exercises!

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!

Start Learning Today