Be afraid to do and be afraid of doing

I am afraid to dosomething = I don't want to do something because it is dangerous or the result could be unpleasant:

-— The streets in this city are not safe at night. Many people are afraid to go out alone. (= they don't want to go out because it is dangerous)

— She was afraid to tell her parents that she had broken the neighbour's window. ( = she didn't want to tell her parents because she knew they would be angry)

I am afraid ofsomething happening= there is a possibility that something bad will happen.

— We walked along the path very carefully because it was icy and we were afraid of falling, (not "afraid to fall")

— I don't like dogs. I'm always afraid of being bitten.(ио/ "afraid to be bitten")

So, you are afraid to dosomething because you are afraid ofsomething happeningas a result. Compare:

— The boys were afraid to play football in the garden be­cause they were afraid of breaking a window.

— I was afraid to stay in the sun because I was afraid of getting burnt.

Be/get used tosomething (I'm used to...)

a) Study this example situation:

Jane is American but she has lived in Britain for three years. When she first drove a car in Britain, she found it very difficult because she had to drive on the left instead of on the right. Driving on the left was strange and difficult for her because:

She wasn't used to it.

She wasn't used to driving on the left.

But after a long practice, driving on the left became less strange:

She got used to driving on the left. Now after three years, driving on the left is no problem for

her.

— She is used to driving on the left.

I'm used tosomething = it is not new or strange for me:

— Frank lives alone. He doesn't mind this because he has lived alone for 15 years. So he is used to it. He is used to living alone.

•— My new shoes felt a bit strange at first because I wasn't used to them.

— Our new flat is on a very busy street. I expect we'll get used to the noise but at the moment we find it very distur­bing.

— Fred has a new job. He has to get up much earlier — at 6.30. He finds this difficult at present because he isn't used to getting up so early.

b) Notice that we say "She is used to driving on the left." (not "she is used to drive"). To in be/get used to is a preposition, not part of the infinitive. So we say:

— Frank is used to living alone, (not "is used to live")

— Jane had to get used to driving on the left.(not "get used to drive")

c) Do not confuse / am used to doing (be/get used to) with/ used to do. They are different in structure and in meaning.

I am used to (doing)something = something isn't strange for me:

— I'm used to the weather in this country. (I'm accustomed to it.)

— I'm used to driving on the left because I've lived in Britain for a long time. (I'm accustomed to driving on the left now.)

We use used to+infinitive to talk about past habits which are now finished.

— I used to drive a Mercedes, but now I drive a Citroen. (= I drove a Mercedes regularly in the past, but I do not drive a Mercedes now.)

— These days I usually stay in bed until late. But when I had a job, I used to get up early.

Noun + preposition + -ing

The Gerund is also used after nouns followed by prepositions, most often the preposition of.

— There are different ways of solving this problem.

— They discussed different methods of teaching foreign languages.

— Have you any reason for being late?

— He has no intention of marrying her.

— He has no objection to being sent there.

— He expressed his surprise at hearing it.

After such nouns as astonishment, disappointment, surprise, intention, necessity, possibility, way both the Gerund and the Infinitive are used.

— I have no intention of going there. = I have no intention to go there.

— There are different ways of doing it. = There are different ways to do it.

Chance and opportunity

a) Chance of-ing

We say: "someone has a (good) chance of doing something" (passing an examination, winning a match etc.):

— Do you think I have a chance of passing the examina­tion?

— We have a very good chance of winning the match.

You can also say any/no/little/much chance:

— I don't think I have much chance of finding a job.

— He has no chance of passing the examination.

You can also say "stand a chance of doing something":

— He doesn't stand a chance of passing the examination.

You can also say "What are the chances of something (hap­pening)?":

— What are the chances of success?

— What are my chances of passing the examination?

You can also say "there is a chance of something happening" or "there is a chance that something will happen":

— Is there any chance of you lending me some money until tomorrow?

— There is a chance that I'll be late home this evening.

b) Chance to do something

We use "chance to do something" when chance = time or opportunity to do something.

('Chance of-ing" is less usual with this meaning.)

— "Have you read the book I lent you?" "No, I haven't had a chance to look at it yet." (= I haven't had time/an opportu­nity to look at it.)

•— We didn't have much chance to talk to each other when we last met. (= we didn't have much time/opportunity to talk)

— These days I don't get much chance to watch television. I'm too busy.

c) Opportunity

We normally say "opportunity to do something" (opportunity of-ing is also possible):

— I have the opportunity to study in the United States for a year. Do you think I should go? (= the chance to study)

— After the lecture there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

You can also say any/no/much/plenty of/more opportunity:

— Do you have much opportunity to speak English? (=much chance to speak)

—We live near the mountains, so we have plenty of oppor­tunity to go skiing.

Do not say "possibility to do something":

— I had the opportunity to study in Canada, (not "possi­bility to study")

Preposition + -ing

a) You can use -ing with before, after, on, in, at to express time.

— Before going out I phoned Ann. You can also say: "Before I went out I..."

— What did you do after leaving school? You can also say "... after you left school."

— After working all evening, John felt tired. You can also say: "after he'd worked all evening..."

— On hearing the news, they left at once. (As soon as they heard the news...)

-— In reciting the poem she missed a line. (When she was reciting the poem...)

— Clare turned at hearing her footsteps. (... when she heard her footsteps.)

Using the-ing form to express time is a little formal. In speech vve often use a clause with a subject.

b) You can use by -ing to say how something happened.

— They got into the house by breaking a kitchen window and climbing in.

— You can improve your English by doing a lot of reading.

c) You can use -ing after without.

— Tom left without finishing his dinner.

— She ran five miles without stopping.

— He climbed through the window without anybody seeing him. (or "...without being seen.")

— She needs to work without people disturbing her. (or "...without being disturbed.")

— It's nice to go on holiday without having to worry about money.

d) You can use -ing after in spite of to express contrast.

— John went to work in spite of feeling ill.

— Arm can't find a job in spite of doing well at school.

e) You can use -ing after the preposition^cr to express purpose.

— This knife is only for cutting bread.

— Schools are for learning.

— The hall was used for dancing.

— A ruler is used for measuring things.

Need to do and need -ing

Ineed to do something = it is necessary for me to do something.

— He needs to work harder.

— We've got plenty of time. We don't need to hurry. need- ing- need to be done (so the meaning is passive):

— The batteries in this radio need changing. (=need to be changed)

— This jacket is rather dirty. It needs cleaning. (= needs to

be cleaned)

— Do you think the grass needs cutting? (= needs to be

cut)

As you can see after need we can also use to be +past participle in the same passive meaning.

— My car needs to be serviced.

— These trousers need to be cleaned.

Expressions + -ing

When these expressions are followed by a verb, the verb ends in

-ing:

It's no use It's no good...

— It's no use worrying about it. There's nothing you can do.

— It's no good trying to persuade me. You won't succeed.

There's no point in ...

— There's no point in buying a car if you don't want to drive it.

— There was no point in waiting, so we went.

It's (not) worth...

— My house is only a short walk from here. It's not worth taking a taxi.

— It was so late when we got home, it wasn't worth going

to bed.

— Do you think this book is worth reading?

— You should go and see the film. It's really worth seeing.

(Have) difficulty...

— I had difficulty finding a place to live, (not "to find")

— Did you have any difficulty getting a visa?

— People often have great difficulty reading my writing.

Remember that we say "difficulty" (not "difficulties"):

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— I'm sure you'll have no difficulty passing the exami­nation.

You can also say "(have) difficulty in -ing":

— He's shy. He has difficulty in talking to people he doesn't know well.

A waste of money/time...

— It's a waste of time reading that book. It's rubbish.

— It's a waste of money buying things you don't need.

Go -ing

We use go -ing for a number of activities (especially sports):

go boating	go hiking	go shopping
go bowling	go hunting	go sightseeing
go camping	go jogging	go skating
go riding	go mountain climbing	go skiing
go dancing	go running	go swimming
go fishing	go sailing	go window shopping

— How often do you go swimming?

— I'm going skiing next week.

— I have to go shopping this morning.

— Let's go sightseeing tomorrow.

— We went camping at the weekend.

Infinitive or -ing?

After the verbs below, we can use the -ing form or the infinitive normally without much difference of meaning.

begin can't bear like hate start

continue can't stand love prefer intend

— He began looking/to look for a job six months ago.

— I like smimming/to swim in the sea.

— She prefers working/to work at night.

Like

In British English, we often use like +-ing form to say that we "enjoy" something.

— I like going to the cinema. (= I enjoy it.)

— I don't like driving, (= I don't enjoy it.)

We use like+ to infinitive to say that we choose to do something because we think it is a good idea.

— I like to go to the dentist's for a check-up every 6 months. (= I think it is a good thing to do, although I may not en­joy it.)

— I like to wash my hair twice a week. (This doesn't mean that I enjoy it; it means that I think it is a good thing to do.)

— Tom likes to do the washing-up immediately after the meal.

After the verbs below we can use the -ing form or the infinitive with a different meaning.

remember forget try stop go on regret

1. Remember/forget doing and remember/forget to do

We use remember/forget + -ing form when we remember or forget something after we do it.

— I remember going to the 1972 Olympics. (I went there and now I remember this.)

— Have you forgotten giving me the money? (You gave me the money.)

We use remember/forget + to infinitive when we remember or forget something before we have to do it.

— Please remember to post the letter. (= don't forget to post it.)

— I remembered to go to the chemist's for you. Here's your medicine. (I remembered, then I went there.)

— Don't forget to give me the money.

2. Try doing and try to do

We use try + -ing form to mean "make an experiment" — do something and see what happens.

— "The car won't start." "Why don't we try pushing it?"

— "I can't find anywhere to live." "Why don't you try put­ting an advertisement in the newspaper?" (= do this to see if it helps you to find a place to live)

We use try + to infinitive to mean "make an effort" — see if you can do something.

— I tried to push the car up the hill, but I couldn't move it.

— I was very tired. I tried to keep my eyes open but I couldn't.

3. Stop doing and stop to do.

We use stop + -ing form to say what we do before we stop.

— I'm a vegetarian. I stopped eating meat 5 years ago. (= I ate meat up to 5 years ago, then I stopped.)

We use stop + to infinitive to say why we stop.

—After I'd been working for 3 hours, I stopped to eat lunch. (= I stopped in order to eat lunch.)

4. Go on doing and go on to do

We use go on + -ing form to talk about something that continues.

— She went on talking about her holiday all evening. (= She continued talking...)

We use go on+ to infinitive to talk about a change to something different.

— She spoke about her son, then she went on to talk about her daughter.

5. Regret doing and regret to do

We use regret + -ing form to say we regret something that we have already done.

— I regret saying that he was an idiot. (I said that he was an idiot.)

We use regret + to infinitive to say we regret something that We have to do now.

— I regret to say that I won't be able to come to the meeting on Monday.

Note that regret + to infinitive is rather formal.

Illustrative situations Gerund or to + infinitive (same meaning)

John: How about coming for a picnic today? We could go to

the lake. Mary: I like having picnics but I'm afraid it will start to rain

as soon as we get there. Look at the clouds. John: Well, I really don't like staying in on Sundays. It's so

boring. Mary: I prefer to do something active at the weekend too but

I can't bear having picnics in the rain!

Gerund or to + infinitive (different meaning)

Mother: Terry, I'm just wondering. I don't remember locking the front door of the house. Did you remember to do it?

Terry: Stop worrying about it now! It's too late! Anyway, there's nothing worth stealing.

Mother: I always forget to lock the door. I really must try to think about it next time.