1

He is addicted to watching movies. Why the writer used gerund after the preposition "to"? , because as known, we use the infinitive after the prepostion (to).

Bavyan Yaldo
  • 2,987
  • 10
  • 44
  • 77
  • 1
    We never use the infinitive after the preposition _to._ The particle _to_ is used to _mark_ the infinitive, e.g. _"to watch"._ There, _to_ is not a preposition. – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Jun 22 '17 at 20:43
  • So, what we call this case when a gerund comes after to? – Bavyan Yaldo Jun 22 '17 at 20:52
  • In this case, the gerund is part of the _noun phrase_ "watching movies", which is the object of the preposition _to._ – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Jun 22 '17 at 20:54
  • Prepositions are among the most difficult parts of speech in English for a new learner to understand, and it is even more difficult when you see _to_ and find that it is not always a preposition! It may be easier if you use the word _infinitive_ to mean the entire phrase, e.g.: _"to watch, to eat, to laugh,"_ and refer to "_watch, eat, laugh,"_ etc, as the _unmarked_ or _bare_ infinitive. – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Jun 22 '17 at 21:03
  • Grammatically or meaningfully, what would happen if I exchanged the word watching ( a gerund ) with watch ( bare infinitive) ? – Bavyan Yaldo Jun 22 '17 at 21:26
  • Well, then you would have the very ungrammatical sentence _"He is addicted to watch movies,"_ which every English speaker would read as nonsense! – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Jun 22 '17 at 21:28

1 Answers1

3

To here is an ordinary preposition, not the infinitive marker. With words derived from the stem addict- it introduces the substance (literal or metaphoric) to which one is addicted:

The thief was addicted to heroin.
She has an addiction to 17th-century metaphysical poetry.
He is addicted to making snarky comments on ELL.

The -ing form is employed here as a 'gerund'—that is, a verbform which may act externally in most roles of an ordinary noun, including standing as the object of a preposition.

StoneyB on hiatus
  • 173,630
  • 13
  • 257
  • 453
  • I gather you are not a member of the _gerund-participle_ movement. – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Jun 22 '17 at 21:06
  • If you have a second, the **[chicken soup](https://ell.stackexchange.com/q/133325/37009)** wants stirring. – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Jun 22 '17 at 21:11
  • @P.E.Dant I don't much care for the term, which marries contemporary understanding of the form to outmoded names for (some of) its distinct uses. I'm toying with referring to the *-ing* and *-en* forms as "gerple" and "papple", but mostly I just call it the *-ing* form. However, our users are more likely to have been taught (badly) the term 'gerund', so I mention that and throw in a free definition. – StoneyB on hiatus Jun 22 '17 at 21:12
  • I've used _gerund_ for the same reason, and because _"-ing word"_ looks so misbegotten, with the hyphen sticking out in front. IMO there's much to be said for _gerple_ and _papple,_ but next thing you know the portmanteau will arise like a manticore and claim the title _gerpapple._ – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Jun 22 '17 at 21:20
  • @P.E.Dant Or we could refer to all three non-finite forms as the *infingerpapples*. – StoneyB on hiatus Jun 22 '17 at 21:37
  • StonyB, what do you mean by ( with words) ? – Bavyan Yaldo Jun 22 '17 at 21:40
  • @Bavyan I mean that the meaning I describe holds in cases where [words derived from the stem *addict-*] are involved – StoneyB on hiatus Jun 22 '17 at 21:49