Hello teacher,
I always use ‘to the power of’
and I know the meaning of this as the
Oxford Dictionary says ‘The product
obtained
when a number is multiplied by itself a
certain number of times’:
‘2 to the power of 4 equals 16’.but I
want to know what does ‘to’ mean
here?
What does ‘to’ mean? It’s a preposition/adverb that has many different meanings depending on the context. Let’s see the most common uses:
INFINITIVE (to +verb)
- I don’t want to talk about it.
- They can’t afford to buy a new computer.
- She would like to improve her English.
For verbs that are followed by ‘to infinitive’, please see:
List of Verbs Followed by ING Form or Infinitive!
List of Verbs Followed by Both Gerunds and Infinitives!
PURPOSE (answers the question ‘why?’)
- We are here to help you.
- I went to the shop to buy some milk.
- I go to MyEnglishteacger.eu’s page to learn English.
DIRECTION (places where you go)
- I go to the swimming pool every Friday.
- I travelled to Italy last summer.
- She always runs to me if she has a problem.
AS FAR AS A POINT/ LIMIT
UNTIL A TIME/ DATE
- The flood has spread to the suburbs.
- Just take me to the railway station. You don’t have to go into the centre.
- I work from 9 to 5.
SOMEBODY IS GIVEN/ TOLD/ EXPLAINED
- Give that toy to your father. He’ll fix it.
- Say hello to your new classmate.
- Can you explain it to me?
So, to answer your question: in your example, ‘2 to the power of 4’, the word ‘to’ means ’as far as that point’.
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