060 : Preposition (in/for/about etc.) + -ing

   A   

If a preposition (in/for/about etc.) is followed by a verb, the verb ends in -ing:

 

	preposition	verb (-ing)
Are you interested	in	working	for us?
I'm not good	at	learning	languages.
Sue must be fed up	with	studying.
What are the advantages	of	having	a car?
Thanks very much	for	inviting	me to your party.
How	about	meeting	for lunch tomorrow?
Why don't you go out	instead of	sitting	at home all the time?
Amy went to work	in spite of	feeling	ill.

 

You can also say 'instead of somebody doing something', 'fed up with people doing something' etc. :

• I'm fed up with people telling me what to do.

 

 

   B   

Note the use of the following prepositions + -ing:

 

before -ing and after -ing:

• Before going out, I phoned Sarah. (not Before to go out)
• What did you do after finishing school?

 

You can also say 'Before I went out ...' and '... after you finished school'.

 

 

by -ing (to say how something happens):

• The burglars got into the house by breaking a window and climbing in.
• You can improve your English by reading more.
• She made herself ill by not eating properly.
• Many accidents are caused by people driving too fast.

without -ing:

• We ran ten kilometres without stopping.
• It was a stupid thing to say. I said it without thinking.
• She needs to work without people disturbing her. (or ... without being disturbed.)
• I have enough problems of my own without having to worry about yours.

 

 

   C   

To -ing (look forward to doing something etc.)

 

To is often part of the infinitive (to do / to see etc.):

• We decided to travel by train.
• Would you like to meet for lunch tomorrow?

But to is also a preposition (like in/for/about/with etc.). For example:

• We went from Paris to Geneva.
• I prefer tea to coffee.
• Are you looking forward to the weekend?

If a preposition is followed by a verb, the verb ends in -ing:

• I'm fed up with travelling by train.
• How about going away this weekend?

So, when to is a preposition and it is followed by a verb, you must say to -ing:

• I prefer driving to travelling by train. (not to travel)
• Are you looking forward to going on holiday? (not looking forward to go)

 

 

 

※ feed :

 

•  feed somebody/something/yourself 

    // Have you fed the cat yet?

    // The baby can't feed itself yet (= can't put food into its own mouth).

    // They have a large family to feed.

    // There's enough here to feed an army.

• feed somebody something  // It's important to feed children a well-balanced diet.
• feed somebody/something (on) something // The cattle are fed (on) barley.
• feed something to somebody/something // The barley is fed to the cattle.
• feed somebody/something with something // The animals are fed with hay and grass.

 

 

※ be fed up with :

 

 

 

※ burglar :