Sometimes it's better not to look at word usage from a grammar perspective. Instead, we can accept that some phrases are 'fixed', and there's no point worrying about the individual words within them.
The phrase "I look forward to seeing you", from yesterday's lesson, is a good example. There's no point trying to understand why we use "to + ing" in this phrase. Just learn it as a fixed phrase.
Let's take another example. Someone asked me for a grammatical explanation of my use of the word "for" in the sentence below:
One option would be for police officers to visit schools. (taken from this essay)
Here's the answer that I gave the student:
It might be best to learn the whole phrase "one option would be for x to..." without trying to understand it word by word. You could consider this to be a 'fixed phrase'.
In other words, rather than looking at this from a grammar perspective, you could learn it as a vocabulary item. Then, the best way to understand the phrase is to see it used in various different contexts. Here are some examples from a Google search:
- One option would be for national authorities to intervene.
- In order to improve the economy, one option would be for the government to invest in infrastructure.
- One option would be for staff to work more hours.
it seems very useful, thank you, Simon.
Posted by: Bjergsen | May 21, 2017 at 12:56
Hi Simon. It's been a while since I last checked your website and I'm glad that your still doing this, sharing your expertise with the IELTS. I was using this site before as I was preparing for the exam and I just wanna say thank you very much, coz you really helped me with my ielts journey. I got band 8 overall. As a result I am now working in the UK. If I have the chance and if I'll visit Manchester I might say hi. Cheers!!!
Posted by: Mark | May 21, 2017 at 15:59
Can't agree more!
Thanks!
Posted by: JINGYI YOU | May 21, 2017 at 16:02
Thank you Simon, but is this a template? Can we use this phrase in writing?
Posted by: Ginny | May 24, 2017 at 04:54
Ginny,
You can definitely use the phrase "One option would be for x to..." in your essays, but only in the right context.
Posted by: Simon | May 27, 2017 at 15:58
Hi Simon
Here's my example ..
1- If the fuel price goes up in the next month, one option would be for the government to not make taxes on markets buyer
Posted by: Ayman | May 28, 2017 at 10:45
Hi Simon,
I have just encountered with a sentence that I failed to find a grammar rule for the use of "of" there. Here is the sentence:
The concept is OF multi-storey buildings in which food crops are grown ... . May I ask you to help me out please? I got confused that why "of" was located there in that way. Thank you in advance for considering.
Posted by: Kami | June 13, 2017 at 09:26
Kami,
It's because we use the phrase "the concept of" e.g. the concept of driverless cars, the concept of a 4-day working week.
"The concept IS OF..." is just the same thing but with the verb "to be" added to create a sentence.
Posted by: Simon | June 13, 2017 at 14:48