One more key vs. One key more

[Lion]

Hi my respected teachers

Can I say :

1. Mastering of a foreign language provides one key more to open the door of medical science!
2. Mastering of a foreign language provides one more key to...

Which one is right? Is it possible to omit the prep. of ?

Thanks in advance

Lion

[Yankee]

[Tom]

Amy

I am totally baffled .

First question: Is to open wrong?

Second question: How should we(the students) know that to+ verb ing form is required?

Tom

[Yankee]

Hi Mr. Baffled

I won't go so far as to say "to open" is wrong, BUT I would tend to use key + to open in a more literal sense.

There is an expression "be key to (something)" and in this expression the word key is figurative. The expression "be a key to (something)" is also used figuratively. The word "to" is a preposition in these expressions. And I'm pretty sure you know what happens to verbs after a preposition. Bingo! You need the "-ing" form.

In Lion's sentence, the idea of key is figurative. Lion also mentions more than one key. And this is one more reason that I would prefer to use "opening". "One more key" indicates (in my opinion) that the word "to" has a meaning similar to "toward". In other words, it supports the idea that "to" is a preposition in the sentence.

Does that clear up the bewilderment?

Amy

[Tom]

Yes, it does
Thanks