Phrasal verb
surrender to
Definition
phrasal verb. to stop fighting or resisting something and let it control you.
phrasal verb. to cease resistance to an enemy, opponent, or overwhelming force; can also describe yielding to an emotion or impulse.
Examples
“The soldiers had to surrender to the enemy.”
“After hours of trying to stay awake, she finally surrendered to her exhaustion and fell asleep.”
“The rebel forces were eventually forced to surrender to the government troops after their supply lines were completely severed.”
Examples
simple
“The soldiers had to surrender to the enemy.”
contextual
“After hours of trying to stay awake, she finally surrendered to her exhaustion and fell asleep.”
complex
“The rebel forces were eventually forced to surrender to the government troops after their supply lines were completely severed.”
Usage
requires a direct object following the preposition 'to'.
Teaching tip
highlight that this can be used literally for war or figuratively for feelings like 'temptation' or 'despair' to help students see its range.
Pitfall
They surrendered the enemy.
They surrendered to the enemy.
without 'to', the verb means you are giving something up (like a weapon), rather than giving yourself up to someone else.
Phrasal verb
Particles
to
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
surrender + to + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/surrender-to