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be committed to doing / to do something

N

Nicholas Basily

Member
Cordoba
Argentina - English and Spanish
I am in need of some guidance with regard to the following:
We normally say "sb is committed to sth" (e.g. she is committed to her family) where sth may be a gerund (e.g. she is committed to looking after her family). All this makes perfect sense as a gerund functions as a noun.
HoweverI have come acrossmuch less frequently"be (jointly) committed to do sth" or "have a commitment to do sth".
Any ideas? I believe I have found a distinctionbut prefer not to mention it so as not to bias any responses!
 
    • Collins Cobuild English Dictionary:

    - If you commit yoruself to a course of action or have it.
    - If you commit yourself to a personyou definitely decide that your relationship will
    be a long term one.
    Example: v Pron-refl "to" -ing

    "I would advise people to think very carefully about committing themselves to working Sundays."

    V pronoun-reflexive "to" -n

    "I wouldn't want to commit myself too soon"

    V "to" -n
    You don't have to commit to anything."

    I hope it helps.
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    Nicholas Basily said:
    We normally say "sb is committed to sth" (e.g. she is committed to her family) where sth may be a gerund (e.g. she is committed to looking after her family). HoweverI have come acrossmuch less frequently"be (jointly) committed to do sth" or "have a commitment to do sth".
    Click to expand...

    "sb is committed to sth" = "be committed to do sth"
    Both of these phrases use a form of the verb "to be".
    They mean the same thing.

    "Sheila is committed to earning good grades."
    "You should be committed to taking care of your grandmother."
     
    Thanks Venus and toniga for your kind responses!
    Unfortunatelyperusing the Collins CobuildLongman Dic of Cont Engthe Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Webster have left me none the wiser on this issue! All confirm what I mentioned initiallyi.e. that you can be committed...
    a) to sth (to + noun)
    b) to doing sth (to + gerund)
    What appears in only ONE example (but not in any grammatical directions) is:
    c) be committed to do sth (full infinitive) (the example is: Both sides committed themselves to settle the dispute peacefully.)
    Conclusion: though "be committed to + infinitive" is not recorded anywhere as a possible structureit does appear occasionally in actual real texts.

    Soupon close examination of the few examples I've come acrossmy conclusion is as follows:
    It would seem to me that...
    a) "be committed to doing sth" refers to energyeffort and time binding one to an ongoing activityone that is already in progress;
    b) "be committed to do sth" or "have a commitment to do sth" refers to a binding promise (can a promise be anythng but binding?!) to do sthto achieve sth not yet begunonly just outlined or proposedto seek an outcome.

    Let me know what you think! (There's more to come!!)
     
    Nicholas Basily said:
    All confirm what I mentioned initiallyi.e. that you can be committed...
    a) to sth (to + noun)
    b) to doing sth (to + gerund)
    What appears in only ONE example (but not in any grammatical directions) is:
    c) be committed to do sth
    Conclusion: though "be committed to + infinitive" is not recorded anywhere as a possible structureit does appear occasionally in actual real texts.
    Click to expand...

    I agree with your conclusions.

    a) The lawyer was committed to our contract.
    I am committed to my husband.
    b) My sister is committed to eating a balanced diet.
    The children in my classroom are committed to testing my nerves!
    c) Can you think of any examples of "be committed + infinitive"?
    I am committed to drink water every day. :confused:
    d?) I have a committment to uphold my promise.
    Our constitution has a committement to protect our civil liberties.
     
    To be on the safe sideI would go with the gerund form. "Committing to do something" sounds awkward to me.
     
    I am reviving this thread merely to support Nicholas Basily and Venus Envy's conclusions since this thread has helped me solve the puzzle I have found in an article on Barclay's CEO in the Independent. I'll quote below the two sentences that appear in the same paragraph:

    I'm committed as CEO to being responsibleon showing restraint," Mr Diamond said.
    Mr Diamond said he was committed to increase lending to businesses but they had to be "credit-worthy".
    Click to expand...
     
    HiNicholas. I had the same doubt some time agoso I did some researchand I came to the conclusion that it is possible to set up an analogy with what happens with the expression "to be used to". I don't know how it works in Englishso I ask you to think in Spanish (which I believe is the same as in Portuguesemy first language). For example: "I am used to going to the mall on weekends". In this sentence"used" would be an adjectiveand "to" would be a preposition in this case. And in Englishafter prepositions we use the verb in the gerund form. Now think about the next sentence: "I used to go to the mall on weekends". The situation is completely different from the former one. Now you have "used" working as a verbso what comes next is a verb in the infinitive. Now apply this reasoning to the expression "to be commited to". Let's use the following example: "The restaurant was committed to providing the best service possible". You have "committed" as an adjective (once moreI don't know if this is how it works in Englishmy line of reasoning requires that you think in Spanish - or Portuguese)so next you have a preposition and the verb in the gerund. On the other handin the example you gave above - "Both sides committed themselves to settle the dispute peacefully" -"committed" is a verbwhich calls for a verb in the infinitive. Maybe that is not the most accurate reasoning (although it is very likely to be)but I always apply this method and it always works. I hope it will be of your help.
     
    Nicholas Basily said:
    Thanks Venus and toniga for your kind responses!
    Unfortunatelyperusing the Collins CobuildLongman Dic of Cont Engthe Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Webster have left me none the wiser on this issue! All confirm what I mentioned initiallyi.e. that you can be committed...
    a) to sth (to + noun)
    b) to doing sth (to + gerund)
    What appears in only ONE example (but not in any grammatical directions) is:
    c) be committed to do sth (full infinitive) (the example is: Both sides committed themselves to settle the dispute peacefully.)
    Conclusion: though "be committed to + infinitive" is not recorded anywhere as a possible structureit does appear occasionally in actual real texts.

    Soupon close examination of the few examples I've come acrossmy conclusion is as follows:
    It would seem to me that...
    a) "be committed to doing sth" refers to energyeffort and time binding one to an ongoing activityone that is already in progress;
    b) "be committed to do sth" or "have a commitment to do sth" refers to a binding promise (can a promise be anythng but binding?!) to do sthto achieve sth not yet begunonly just outlined or proposedto seek an outcome.

    Let me know what you think! (There's more to come!!)
    Click to expand...

    The first 2 (be committed to sth/doing sth) are transitive phrasal verbswhile the third one (be committed to do sth) has a transitive verb with a reflexive pronoun as the direct objectwhile the infinitive there (to do sth) functions as an adverb as it answers the question "why."

    A. I am committed to the company. (subject + transitive phrasal verb + direct object: the company)

    B. I am committed to helping the company grow. (subject + transitive phrasal verb + direct object in the form of a gerund phrasehelping the company grow)

    c. We committed ourselves (in order) to settle the dispute. (Subject + transitive verb + reflexive pronoun as the direct object + adverbial infinitive phrase)

    A similar example would be this:

    1. I am looking to open a restaurant in this town. (subject + intransitive verb + adverbial infinitive phrase)

    2. I am looking forward to hearing from you. (subject + transitive 3-part phrasal verb + direct object in the for of a gerund phrase)

    Hope my explanation helps. :)
     
    So if I follow the reasonings abovewhen writing vows or signing a charter of some sortone would say:
    "I commit myself to (infinitive phrase)" and not "I commit myself to (gerund phrase)" because the reflexive pronoun is the direct object of the verb "to commit".
    Did I get this right or are both forms correct ? If soI'm not sure I got the difference between the two structures at all...

    Or would it sound more natural to say "I commit myself to be doing sth" ?
     
    And what about the following sentence read in a publication of the Financial Conduct Authority FCA (UK) dated February 2015 ?


    "In this documentwe focus on the investment aspects of loan-based crowdfunding.
    Where platforms arrange consumer creditadditional rules apply to protect borrowers.
    We have committed to a separate post-implementation review of the consumer credit rules (including those applicable to loan-based crowdfunding platforms) and will publish further information on this in due course."

    Could there be something amiss in this sentence ?
     
    I think the sentence is fine as it has "a separate post-implementation review" as the object of "committed to"though a gerund like "having" could also be inserted after "committed to".
     
    Now it makes sense to me.
    So you say that the sentence can as well be written as : "We committed to have a separate ..." instead of : "We have committed to a separate..."
    But would it still not be better to write : "We are committed to have a separate..." ?
    Anyway thank you very much Englishmypassion.
     
    An interesting case of both forms appearing in the same sentence (extract from Amber Rudd's resignation letter dated 07/09/2019)

    1567920094502.png
     
    B
    VenusEnvy said:
    I agree with your conclusions.

    a) The lawyer was committed to our contract.
    I am committed to my husband.
    b) My sister is committed to eating a balanced diet.
    The children in my classroom are committed to testing my nerves!
    c) Can you think of any examples of "be committed + infinitive"?
    I am committed to drink water every day. :confused:
    d?) I have a committment to uphold my promise.
    Our constitution has a committement to protect our civil liberties.
    Click to expand...

    I agree with you.
    The "to" in the sentence is a prepositionthus it should be followed by a noun or a gerundan "ing" form of a verb used as a noun.
    The structure:
    Be (is/am/are) committed to + "ing" for of a verb or a noun or a noun phrase.
     
    Socould one sum up by saying that:
    We committed ourselves to working harder to catch up with the backload of work?
    Orthe shorter version:
    We committed ourselves to catch up with the backload of work? (= in order to catch up)
     
    Any comments will be appreciated for the sentence below from an article in the Indepentent. It's in the form of "sb is committed to gerund". This sentence is mentioned above but I guess it is overlooked. I was normally expecting "sb is committed to infinitive". Thank you!

    Mr Diamond said he was committed to increase lending to businesses but they had to be "credit-worthy".
    Click to expand...
     
    I've been asking myself this question for a few days now.

    What I understand is this:

    - when "commit" is used as a verbit's usually followed by an infinitive.
    "He commited to bring this to an end"


    - when "committed" is an adjectivegerund follows much more naturally.
    "he's committed to bringing this to an end"

    The underlying thinking could be that in the first caseat one point in the future"it" will end - because you committed to make this happen; and in the second caseyou understand that it may take timebut "it" will gradually come to an end.

    What do you think?
     
    VenusEnvy said:
    "sb is committed to sth" = "be committed to do sth"
    Both of these phrases use a form of the verb "to be".
    They mean the same thing.

    "Sheila is committed to earning good grades."
    "You should be committed to taking care of your grandmother."
    Click to expand...
    Hi!And "I hope that in a few years I'll be committed to learning and getting an eduacation" will be correct?Thanks a lot.
     
    Kitana88 said:
    Hi!And "I hope that in a few years I'll be committed to learning and getting an eduacation" will be correct?Thanks a lot.
    Click to expand...
    This is a strange thing to say. Why would anyone "hope" that they'll be "committed to it in a few years"? Just commit to it now.

    To me it would only make sense if you say"I'm committed to it nowand I hope that I will still be committed in a few years."
     
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