Infinitive vs Gerund
The business hoped to devote most of its fund to ______ for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
Should the answer be "pay" or "paying"? Why and, what difference would it make (if any)?
grammar usage word-difference
edited 4 hours ago
Gustavson
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asked 5 hours ago
JoeJoe
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The business hoped to devote most of its fund to ______ for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
Should the answer be "pay" or "paying"? Why and, what difference would it make (if any)?
grammar usage word-difference
edited 4 hours ago
Gustavson
2,800311
asked 5 hours ago
JoeJoe
2714
add a comment |
The business hoped to devote most of its fund to ______ for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
Should the answer be "pay" or "paying"? Why and, what difference would it make (if any)?
grammar usage word-difference
edited 4 hours ago
Gustavson
2,800311
asked 5 hours ago
JoeJoe
2714
The business hoped to devote most of its fund to ______ for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
Should the answer be "pay" or "paying"? Why and, what difference would it make (if any)?
grammar usage word-difference
grammar usage word-difference
edited 4 hours ago
Gustavson
2,800311
asked 5 hours ago
JoeJoe
2714
edited 4 hours ago
Gustavson
2,800311
asked 5 hours ago
JoeJoe
2714
edited 4 hours ago
Gustavson
2,800311
edited 4 hours ago
Gustavson
2,800311
edited 4 hours ago
Gustavson
2,800311
2,800311
asked 5 hours ago
JoeJoe
2714
asked 5 hours ago
JoeJoe
2714
asked 5 hours ago
JoeJoe
2714
2714
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
"to" is a preposition there, so a gerund is required.
The correct sentence is:
- The business hoped to devote most of its fund to paying for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
You devote money, time, effort, etc. to something, and that something needs to be a noun. If it is a verb, its nominal variant (i.e. a gerund) will be required.
Here you can find more examples.
answered 4 hours ago
GustavsonGustavson
2,800311
add a comment |
What follows to should be a noun (or verb acting as a noun), making this the correct version of your sentence:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to paying for new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
Note that I used the plural funds on the assumption that you're talking about budget or money rather than an actual fund. I also added a comma after ads.
Having said that, I would dispense with to paying for altogether. It's redundant.
A shorter and still understandable sentence is simply:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
On the other hand, you can rephrase the original sentence so pay can be used rather than paying. To do this, you would remove devote and rearrange things a bit:
The business hoped to pay for new television ads with most of its funds, since it wanted more coverage.
answered 3 hours ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
15.7k22237
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
"to" is a preposition there, so a gerund is required.
The correct sentence is:
- The business hoped to devote most of its fund to paying for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
You devote money, time, effort, etc. to something, and that something needs to be a noun. If it is a verb, its nominal variant (i.e. a gerund) will be required.
Here you can find more examples.
answered 4 hours ago
GustavsonGustavson
2,800311
add a comment |
"to" is a preposition there, so a gerund is required.
The correct sentence is:
- The business hoped to devote most of its fund to paying for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
You devote money, time, effort, etc. to something, and that something needs to be a noun. If it is a verb, its nominal variant (i.e. a gerund) will be required.
Here you can find more examples.
answered 4 hours ago
GustavsonGustavson
2,800311
add a comment |
"to" is a preposition there, so a gerund is required.
The correct sentence is:
- The business hoped to devote most of its fund to paying for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
You devote money, time, effort, etc. to something, and that something needs to be a noun. If it is a verb, its nominal variant (i.e. a gerund) will be required.
Here you can find more examples.
answered 4 hours ago
GustavsonGustavson
2,800311
"to" is a preposition there, so a gerund is required.
The correct sentence is:
- The business hoped to devote most of its fund to paying for new television ads since it wanted more coverage.
You devote money, time, effort, etc. to something, and that something needs to be a noun. If it is a verb, its nominal variant (i.e. a gerund) will be required.
Here you can find more examples.
answered 4 hours ago
GustavsonGustavson
2,800311
answered 4 hours ago
GustavsonGustavson
2,800311
answered 4 hours ago
GustavsonGustavson
2,800311
answered 4 hours ago
GustavsonGustavson
2,800311
2,800311
add a comment |
add a comment |
What follows to should be a noun (or verb acting as a noun), making this the correct version of your sentence:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to paying for new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
Note that I used the plural funds on the assumption that you're talking about budget or money rather than an actual fund. I also added a comma after ads.
Having said that, I would dispense with to paying for altogether. It's redundant.
A shorter and still understandable sentence is simply:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
On the other hand, you can rephrase the original sentence so pay can be used rather than paying. To do this, you would remove devote and rearrange things a bit:
The business hoped to pay for new television ads with most of its funds, since it wanted more coverage.
answered 3 hours ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
15.7k22237
add a comment |
What follows to should be a noun (or verb acting as a noun), making this the correct version of your sentence:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to paying for new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
Note that I used the plural funds on the assumption that you're talking about budget or money rather than an actual fund. I also added a comma after ads.
Having said that, I would dispense with to paying for altogether. It's redundant.
A shorter and still understandable sentence is simply:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
On the other hand, you can rephrase the original sentence so pay can be used rather than paying. To do this, you would remove devote and rearrange things a bit:
The business hoped to pay for new television ads with most of its funds, since it wanted more coverage.
answered 3 hours ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
15.7k22237
add a comment |
What follows to should be a noun (or verb acting as a noun), making this the correct version of your sentence:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to paying for new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
Note that I used the plural funds on the assumption that you're talking about budget or money rather than an actual fund. I also added a comma after ads.
Having said that, I would dispense with to paying for altogether. It's redundant.
A shorter and still understandable sentence is simply:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
On the other hand, you can rephrase the original sentence so pay can be used rather than paying. To do this, you would remove devote and rearrange things a bit:
The business hoped to pay for new television ads with most of its funds, since it wanted more coverage.
answered 3 hours ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
15.7k22237
What follows to should be a noun (or verb acting as a noun), making this the correct version of your sentence:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to paying for new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
Note that I used the plural funds on the assumption that you're talking about budget or money rather than an actual fund. I also added a comma after ads.
Having said that, I would dispense with to paying for altogether. It's redundant.
A shorter and still understandable sentence is simply:
The business hoped to devote most of its funds to new television ads, since it wanted more coverage.
On the other hand, you can rephrase the original sentence so pay can be used rather than paying. To do this, you would remove devote and rearrange things a bit:
The business hoped to pay for new television ads with most of its funds, since it wanted more coverage.
answered 3 hours ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
15.7k22237
answered 3 hours ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
15.7k22237
answered 3 hours ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
15.7k22237
answered 3 hours ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
15.7k22237
15.7k22237
add a comment |
add a comment |
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