{"id":16196,"date":"2013-01-04T09:00:28","date_gmt":"2013-01-04T16:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=16196"},"modified":"2013-01-02T16:49:13","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T23:49:13","slug":"gmat-prepositions-and-idioms-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/gmat-prepositions-and-idioms-to\/","title":{"rendered":"GMAT Prepositions and Idioms: “to”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Prepositions in English display a powerful diversity of uses.\u00a0 In previous\u00a0preposition article<\/a>, we talked about the proposition \"from\".\u00a0 Here, we will look, at the preposition \"to.\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The preposition \"to\"<\/h2>\n

The word \"to\" is a preposition.\u00a0 This means, it must be followed by a noun --- or by something playing the role of a noun.\u00a0\u00a0 This latter category includes\u00a0gerunds<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0substantive clauses.<\/a><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0I attribute my lack of acumen to staying up late every night for the past five nights.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0He acknowledges no responsibility to whoever may use the room after him.<\/em><\/p>\n

In #1, the object of \"to\" is a gerund phrase, and in #2, the object of \"to\" is a substantive clause.\u00a0 Both of these sentences follow idiomatic structures we will examine below.<\/p>\n

The preposition \"to\" also begins\u00a0infinitive.<\/a>\u00a0 An infinitive is something very different from a prepositional phrase.\u00a0 This blog article is discussing preposition phrases involving \"to\", including words and phrase that idiomatically demand this preposition.\u00a0 There's a whole other post on\u00a0verbs that idiomatically require infinitives<\/a>, another topic necessarily for performing well on GMAT Sentence Correction.<\/p>\n

The preposition \"to\" generally connote motion toward something, and many of its uses retain something of that connotation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Verbs + \"to\"<\/h2>\n

Again, just to be perfectly clear: this section is about verbs that require a prepositional phrase beginning with \"to\" --- see the link above for verbs that require infinitives.\u00a0\u00a0 The following two verbs require a prepositional phrase beginning with \"to\":<\/p>\n

attribute to<\/strong><\/p>\n

conform to<\/strong><\/p>\n

contribute to<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we\u00a0attribute<\/strong>\u00a0something (A) to someone (B), we are saying that we think person B has the quality or skill or talent of A; that something, A, can also be a real-world achievement or accomplishment.\u00a0 The \"credit\" for the talented or achievement, as it were, \"travels\" to the person to whom the attribution was made: this is why the preposition \"to\" is used.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0Despite initial controversies, mathematicians now universally attribute the proof of\u00a0<\/em>Fermat's Last Theorem<\/em><\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/em>Andrew Wiles<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

When we\u00a0contribute<\/strong>\u00a0something (A) to someone (B), we are giving (A) a gift or donation to B.\u00a0\u00a0 In most contexts including the GMAT, when the object contributed is otherwise unspecified, it is assumed to be money.\u00a0\u00a0 The gift or whatever is contributed \"moves toward\" the one who receives it.<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0Warren Buffet<\/em><\/a>\u00a0contributes substantially to philanthropic and charitable organizations<\/em>.<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0In one of the remarkable collaborations of music history,\u00a0<\/em>Paul McCartney<\/em><\/a>\u00a0would contribute more complex and interesting harmonies to\u00a0<\/em>John Lennon<\/em><\/a>'s songs, and in turn, Lennon would contribute mind-bending phrases to McCartney's lyrics.<\/em><\/p>\n

The idiom involving the verb \"conform\" is a little more unusual.\u00a0\u00a0 When I say I\u00a0conform<\/strong>\u00a0A to B, then A is usually something under my control (my behavior, my habits, etc.), and B is some kind of more universal standard or set of rules.\u00a0 The connotation is that B is based in some sort of authority, and A is something which should be governed by this authority.<\/p>\n

6)\u00a0Professor Higgins argued that\u00a0<\/em>status<\/em><\/a>\u00a0of the various races, with respect to the American legal system, still does not conform to the\u00a0<\/em>Fourteenth Amendment<\/em><\/a>'s lofty idea of \"equal protection under the law.\"\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

7)\u00a0The CFO estimated that Fomalhaut Corporation would have to spend more than $7 million in order to conform completely to the full panoply of\u00a0<\/em>EPA<\/em><\/a>\u00a0regulations<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adjectives + \"to\"<\/h2>\n

Two adjectives that idiomatically take a prepositional phrase beginning with the preposition are:<\/p>\n

responsible to<\/strong><\/p>\n

subject to<\/strong><\/p>\n

The very idea of being \"responsible<\/strong>\" implies someone to whom one is accountable, the person to whom one is \"responding\" (the root meaning of \"responsible\").\u00a0\u00a0 That authoritative person is the object of the preposition \"to.\"\u00a0 This relationship with the proposition carries over to the noun form, \"responsibility.\"<\/p>\n

8)\u00a0The CEO of most corporations is responsible to the board that hired him<\/em>.<\/p>\n

9)\u00a0The senior military leaders on the\u00a0<\/em>Joints Chiefs of Staff<\/em><\/a>\u00a0are responsible to the\u00a0<\/em>Secretary of Defense<\/em><\/a>, and through this Secretary, to the\u00a0<\/em>President<\/em><\/a>\u00a0of the United States<\/em>.<\/p>\n

10)\u00a0After the state intervened to save the city from bankruptcy, the mayor asked the state senators to clarify and delineate his responsibility to them<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The adjective \"subject<\/strong>\" implies being controlled by something else, either in a legal sense, or in the sense of a natural law, or experiences the consequences of something.\u00a0\u00a0 A is subject to B if B is the controller or actor having influence on A.<\/p>\n

11)\u00a0Even the President is subject to the law of the land.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

12)\u00a0The former politician, no longer subject to vituperative attacks in the press, was considering the possibility of a new campaign.<\/em><\/p>\n

13)\u00a0The New York City\u00a0<\/em>Subway System<\/em><\/a>, simply because of its gargantuan scale, is subject to a relatively high rate of delays<\/em>.<\/p>\n

14)\u00a0Since the electron is not composed of\u00a0<\/em>quarks<\/em><\/a>, it is not subject to the laws of\u00a0<\/em>Quantum Chromodynamics<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Comparisons with \"to\"<\/h2>\n

Of course, the GMAT Sentence Correction loves comparisons.\u00a0 The following comparative forms use the preposition \"to\"<\/p>\n

compare A to B<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

compare to<\/strong><\/p>\n

compared to\u00a0<\/strong>(or\u00a0compared with<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

in contrast to A, B<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some exemplary sentences to demonstrate proper usage.<\/p>\n

15)\u00a0In<\/em>\u00a0The Crucible<\/a>,\u00a0Arthur Miller compared the activities of the\u00a0<\/em>HUAC<\/em><\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0<\/em>Salem witch trials<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

16)\u00a0Warren G. Harding<\/em><\/a>\u00a0won one of the largest\u00a0<\/em>landslide victories<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in American presidential history, but in retrospect, his administration does not\u00a0<\/em>compare well<\/em><\/a>\u00a0to those of virtually all other presidents<\/em>.<\/p>\n

17)\u00a0Compared to\/with California, New Jersey has a relatively small coast<\/em>.<\/p>\n

18)\u00a0Compared to\/with other writers of the early 20th century,\u00a0<\/em>James Joyce<\/em><\/a>\u00a0may seem to have produced a limited output, if one judges purely by number of books<\/em>.<\/p>\n

19)\u00a0In contrast to politics throughout Europe, politics in America are influenced much more heavily by religion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

20)\u00a0In contrast to the numerous theorems of\u00a0<\/em>Geometry<\/em><\/a>\u00a0readily accessible to high school students, most of the theorems of\u00a0<\/em>Number Theory<\/em><\/a>\u00a0are so sophisticated that only those with advanced degrees in mathematics can understand them<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The GMAT does not like the words \"compared to\" or \"compared with\" combined with other comparative words:
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Also, adding the word \"when\" before the word \"compared\" is always 100% wrong.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Know the idioms given in bold in this post.\u00a0 As always with idioms, read, read,\u00a0read<\/a>!\u00a0\u00a0 Search for the idioms in this post in context.\u00a0 You understand English best when you understand it in context.<\/p>\n

This post was written by Mike McGarry, GMAT expert at Magoosh<\/a>, and originally posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prepositions in English display a powerful diversity of uses.\u00a0 In previous\u00a0preposition article, we talked about the proposition “from”.\u00a0 Here, we will look, at the preposition “to.”   The preposition “to”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,783,243,719,735],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-magoosh-blog","category-blog","category-sentence-correction-gmat","category-verbal-gmat-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16198,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16196\/revisions\/16198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}