你知道 to 后面什么时候用verb ing 吗？

VERB OR NOUN？

It's GERUND - 动名词！

ＶＥＲＢ USED AS NOUN

credit to grammar.net

THE GERUND AS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE

Eatingpeople is wrong.
Huntingtigers is dangerous.
Flying makes me nervous.
Brushing your teeth is important.
Smoking causes lung cancer.

THE GERUND AS THE COMPLEMENT OF THE VERB 'TO BE'

One of his duties is attendingmeetings.
The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.
One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.

THE GERUND AFTER PREPOSITIONS

The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition. This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, for example the expressionsin spite of & there's no point in.

Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
She is good at painting.
She avoided him by walkingon the opposite side of the road.
We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.
My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.
There's no pointin waiting.
In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.

THE GERUND AFTER PHRASAL VERBS

Phrasal verbs are composed ofa verb + preposition or adverb.

When will you give up smoking?
She always puts off goingto the dentist.
He kept on asking for money.
Jim ended up buying a new TV after his old one broke.

There are some phrasal verbs that include the word "to" as a preposition for example to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to get around to, & to be used to. It is important to recognise that the word "to" is a preposition in these cases because it must be followed by a gerund. It is not part of the infinitive form of the verb. You can check whether "to" is a preposition or part of the infinitive. If you can put the pronoun "it" after the word "to" and form a meaningful sentence, then the word "to" is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
I look forward to it.
I am used to waiting for buses.
I am used to it.
She didn't really take to studying English.
She didn't really take to it.
When will you get around to mowing the grass?
When will you get around to it?

THE GERUND IN COMPOUND NOUNS

In compound nouns using the gerund, it is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous verb. For example, with the word "swimming pool" it is a pool for swimming in, it is not a pool that is swimming.