ENGLISH
REFERENCE

belong to sth

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. To be the property of someone, or to be a member of a group or organization.

phr. v.. A stative verb indicating ownership, possession, or membership in a group or category. It requires a prepositional complement introduced by 'to'.


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.

Particles
to
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
belong + to + object
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.

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