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to [ to ]

[
US
tə, tu, tuː ]
[
UK
tə, tu, tuː ]
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Grammar

Preposition

1. Expressing motion in the direction of (a particular location)

my first visit to Africa

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2. Expressing location, typically in relation to a specified point of reference.

forty miles to the south of the site

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3. Expressing a point reached at the end of a range or after a period of time.

a drop in profits from £105 m to around £75 m

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4. (in telling the time) before (the hour specified)

I was awake at ten to six, at the gym by 6:30.

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5. Approaching or reaching (a particular condition)

she was close to tears

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6. Expressing the result of a process or action.

smashed to smithereens

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7. Governing a phrase expressing someone's reaction to something.

I got 98% in the test but to my annoyance, Janet got 100%.

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8. Identifying the person or thing affected by or receiving something.

they donated £400 to the hospice

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9. Identifying a particular relationship between one person and another.

he is married to his cousin Emma

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10. Used in various phrases to indicate how something is related to something else (often followed by a noun without a determiner)

You can even have your ideal leather coat made to measure by a leather specialist.

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11. Indicating a rate of return on something, for example the distance travelled in exchange for fuel used.

my car only does ten miles to the gallon

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12. (to the) Indicating the power (exponent) to which a number is raised.

ten to the minus thirty-three

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13. Indicating that two things are attached or linked.

he had left his dog tied to a drainpipe

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14. Concerning or likely to concern (something)

a reference to Psalm 22:18

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15. Used to introduce the second element in a comparison.

It is simply that I think women are superior to men.

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16. Placed before a debit entry in accounting.

Infinitive particle

1. Used with the base form of a verb to indicate that the verb is in the infinitive.
2. Expressing purpose or intention.

I set out to buy food

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3. Expressing an outcome or result.

It's too cold to get out of bed.

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4. Expressing a cause.

I'm really pleased to be here.

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5. Indicating a desired or advisable action.

the leaflet explains how to start a course

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6. Indicating a proposition that is known, believed, or reported about a specified person or thing.

It's a plant whose leaves are said to have many medicinal qualities.

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7. (about to) Forming a future tense with reference to the immediate future.

Allan's about to get married - he's in Venice organising his pre-nuptial agreement!

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8. After a noun, indicating its function or purpose.

We don't have any water to drink.

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9. After a phrase containing an ordinal number.

She is the second African-American to hold the post.

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10. Used without a verb following when the missing verb is clearly understood.

I don't want this moment to end, but it's got to.

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Adverb

1. So as to be closed or nearly closed.

he pulled the door to behind him

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Origin

1. Old English tō (adverb and preposition), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch toe and German zu.

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