To infinitive and To preposition: The Difference
To infinitive and To preposition: The Difference
Both 'to' infinitive and 'to' prepositions are particles that are used to introduce an infinitive phrase and a prepositional phrase. An infinitive phrase is a phrase that is made up of the particle "to" and a verb in its base form. For example; to be. A prepositional phrase on the other hand is a phrase that is headed by a preposition and must contain at least one nominal element. For example; on the floor, by the window, to the garden, etc.
Now that you know what infinitive phrases and prepositional phrases are, it is time to know the difference between when the particle 'to' is starting an infinitive phrase and when it starts a prepositional phrase. Take the following instances;
1. I am going to the market.
2. Mark Twain will like to be served first.
3. To be or not to be is one of Shakespeare's quotes.
4. To the ends of the earth, they looked for him.
5. I am here to cook dinner.
6. He went to the gardener house to talk to him.
7. It would be nice to take them to the stream.
Can you identify which of the examples above contains the particle 'to' functioning as the introducer of an infinitive phrase or a prepositional phrase? Before we get into details, you should know what a particle is, first. A particle is a class of adverbs that are not regarded as true adverbs in the real sense of it because they are not content words—that is, they are meaningless when they appear in isolation compared to other adverbs, e.g slowly.
So back to the examples above, examples one and four have the particle 'to' functioning as an introducer of prepositional phrases. How is that? Well simply because it is followed by nominal elements or noun phrases, e.g . the market, and the ends of the earth. While examples two,and three have the particle 'to' introducing infinitive phrases. How can we tell? It is because it is immediately followed by verbs in their base forms.
A verb in its base form is a verb that is not conjugated for person, tense or number as well as a verb in its most original form without any grammatical properties or modifications that make it reflect tense and number.
The base form verbs in examples two and three above that follow the particle 'to' include; be, and cook.
Did you notice something different in examples six and seven? There were instances of the particle 'to' functioning as the introducer of an infinitive phrase and the introducer of a prepositional phrase. Those examples were deliberately included to help you identify the differences when they co-occur in expressions.
The instances of the particle 'to' introducing an infinitive phrase in six and seven above include;
to talk, and to take. While the instances of the particle 'to' introducing prepositional phrases in the same examples include; to the gardener, to him and to the stream.
So there you have it, the particle 'to' can introduce both an infinitive phrase and a prepositional phrase it all depends on what follows next. When what follows is a base form verb, then it is an infinitive phrase, but if what follows is a nominal element, then it is a prepositional phrase.
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