Phrasal verb
belong to sth
Definition
phrasal verb. To be the property of someone, or to be a member of a group or organization.
phrasal verb. A stative verb indicating ownership, possession, or membership in a group or category. It requires a prepositional complement introduced by 'to'.
Examples
“This book belongs to me.”
“He belongs to the local chess club and plays there every weekend.”
“These ancient artifacts belong to a period of history about which very little is known, making them invaluable to researchers.”
Examples
simple
“This book belongs to me.”
contextual
“He belongs to the local chess club and plays there every weekend.”
complex
“These ancient artifacts belong to a period of history about which very little is known, making them invaluable to researchers.”
Usage
As a stative verb, 'belong to' is not typically used in continuous (-ing) forms.
Teaching tip
Emphasize that 'belong' is a stative verb, so learners should avoid progressive forms like *'is belonging to'.
Pitfall
This car is belonging to my father.
This car belongs to my father.
'Belong' is a stative verb describing a state, not an action, so it is not used in the continuous tense.
Phrasal verb
Particles
to
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
belong + to + object