EX. I look forward to talking to you on Friday afternoon.
例句:我期待下周五与你的谈话。
As the example above shows, sometimes it is correct to use “to” plus the –ing form of a verb.
从例句里我们可以看到,有时“to”也可以加动词-ing形式。
Many non-native English speakers are reluctant to use –ing after “to”. Maybe this is because you learnt at school that after “to” a verb should always be in the infinitive.
许多非英语国家的人都不喜欢在“to”后面加动词-ing形式。这可能是因为你们学校里的老师告诉你们“to”后面一般都跟动词不定式。
This is only half true. “To” actually has two uses – EITHER as an infinitive marker (e.g. The Company wishes to purchase the shares), OR as a preposition (e.g. He has gone to lunch).
其实不然。事实上“to”有两种用法,一种是动词不定式的标志(比如:这家公司想要收购股份。),另一种,用作介词。(比如:他去吃饭了。)
When “to” acts as a preposition it is usually followed by an –ing form (which in this case is a gerund) or a noun/noun phrase, as in these examples:
当“to”作介词时,后面通常会跟着动词-ing形式(动名词)或者名词/名词词组,比如:
EX1. There is no obstacle to registering the company.
EX2. There is no obstacle to the registration of the company.
EX2. There is no obstacle to the registration of the company.
例句:注册这家公司没有困难。
EX1. I do not recommend committing yourself to purchasing the shares yet.
EX2. I do not recommend committing yourself to the purchase of the shares yet.
EX2. I do not recommend committing yourself to the purchase of the shares yet.
例句:我现在还不建议你去收购那些股份。
EX1. I look forward to hearing from you.
EX2. I look forward to your reply.
EX2. I look forward to your reply.
例句:我期待你的回复。
There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. The next post looks at these.
当然,“to”加动词-ing也有例外的时候。敬请期待下次更新。