Hello
I am confused in using ing form after to. It is obvious in some cases such as I am looking forward to hearing (for example), but in this case “when it comes to changing” is not familiar to me. would you please explain that when we can use ing form after to ?
Thanks
“I am looking forward to” must be followed by a noun (the object of the preposition “to”). That is why the “-ing” form (gerund) is used.
In your second example, “when it comes to…” would normally be understood as the idiom meaning “when the situation/topic of … arises”, and again it has to be followed by a noun (again the object of the preposition “to”).
“when it comes to change” is also possible. In this case “change” may either be a noun, or it may (less commonly) be a verb, with “to” used in the sense of “in order to” and “when it comes” used in a non-idiomatic sense.
Dozy,
- Students must be prepared in advance when it comes to their exams.
- There’s no language barrier when it comes to playing football.
Are these sentences OK?
Yes.
Hi Allifathima
thanks in advance.
@ Dozy
thanks for examples
Look forward to something = anticipate something with interest
Look forward to is one of the many phrasal verbs in English in which an adverbial particle (forward) as well as a preposition (to) is combined with the stem verb to signify a particular meaning. What we are looking forward to can be exemplified as either as a noun phrase or as a verb-phrase with an -ing pattern
Jill says she ´s not looking forward to Jack ´s party next weekend.
I very much look forward to meeting you soon.
Most learners get confused by the infinitive “to”, thinking that after “to” the bare form of the verb must be followed. In fact, it’s the opposit. A structure with “ looking forward to” is always follow by a direct object (noun or gerund).
If you would think of a gerund as a noun, the following sentence may make more sense to you:
-
I am looking forward to my two week vacation in . The direct object is the noun phrase “my two week vacation”
-
I am looking forward to spending two weeks off in . The direct object is “spending two weeks”.
In # 2, “to spend two weeks off” is incorrect because it’s not a direct object.
i hope this will help you .
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TOEIC listening, question-response: Why don’t you ask Sandra to help you?[YSaerTTEW443543]
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If you don’t believe in copy and pasting why do you copy and paste answers from englishforums.com? Also, please try to stick to basic spelling rules. Many thanks, Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, question-response: How much time do we have before the presentation?[YSaerTTEW443543]