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Date Posted: 17:21:23 11/01/07 Thu
Author: Nolij
Subject: Re: Dedicated to using proper grammar.
In reply to: Trys 's message, "Re: Dedicated to using proper grammar." on 16:58:25 10/30/07 Tue

>Therefore, if the verb is really a form of "dedicate
>to" --as in, "I dedicate to my followers..." or "I
>dedicate to all those who came before me..." then you
>can't use anything but a gerund after it (i.e., an
>-ing form of the verb).

I'm not sure the term "dedicated" is being used in that way. You give examples where the verb "to dedicate" with a direct object. I believe that the motto here uses "dedicated" as an adjective, more like when you say, "a dedicated servant." More to my point, I believe "dedicate" in this case is being used in the reflexive sense, such that if the motto were a complete sentence, it should read "We have dedicated ourselves to being the best that we can be," rather than "We dedicate our being the best to ourselves."

An alternate reading of the sentence could allow "Dedicated to be the best" to make sense, although I doubt it is intentional. "Dedicated" as a past participle adjective can stand alone in the sense that "Johnny is so dedicated." In this sense "Dedicated to be the best" is grammatically similar to "Happy to be the best." So if you read it such that "to be the best" explains why the unspoken narrator is dedicated.

Nonetheless, I agree with everyone that "Dedicated to [SOME GOAL]" requires that its verb tense be in the gerund form.

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