"Get around to review it" is one of the most common ESL errors with this expression, and it's an easy one to make, because the "to" right after the verb phrase looks exactly like an infinitive marker.
It isn't one here. In "get around to," the "to" is a preposition governing a gerund, not the "to" that introduces a bare infinitive like "want to review" or "need to review." The object of "to" must be a gerund or noun phrase: "get around to reviewing it," never "get around to review it."
Wrong and right, side by side
Wrong: "I still haven't gotten around to review the report." Right: "I still haven't gotten around to reviewing the report."
Wrong: "She finally got around to update the deck." Right: "She finally got around to updating the deck."
Why this mistake is so easy to make
Most English verbs that take "to" immediately after them use it as an infinitive marker followed by a bare verb -- "want to go," "need to finish," "plan to review." "Get around to" looks like it should follow the same pattern, but it doesn't: here, "to" functions as a preposition, and prepositions in English are followed by gerunds, not bare infinitives, the same way "interested in reviewing" or "responsible for reviewing" work.
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Try substituting a noun for whatever comes after "to." If "I got around to the report" sounds natural, then "I got around to reviewing the report" is the correct gerund form -- "to" is acting as a preposition, taking an -ing form, exactly like it would take a noun.
The rule
After "get around to," use a gerund (-ing form) or a noun phrase, never a bare infinitive. This holds across every tense: "haven't gotten around to reviewing," "finally got around to reviewing," "will get around to reviewing."
Practice scenarios
Practice using get around to correctly in situations like:
- reporting a delayed task using the gerund form, not a bare infinitive
- catching this specific error in a colleague's draft
- producing the present-perfect negative form under time pressure
Useful practice phrases:
- "I haven't gotten around to reviewing the report."
- "She finally got around to updating the deck."
- "I'll get around to reading it this weekend."
The "to" here is a preposition, not an infinitive marker -- it wants a gerund, every time.
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