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Guest Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

"to hate" and "to avoid"

Hello,

A question came up in my ESL class last night, and I'm not sure whether I'm missing something obvious or whether there's just no explanation:

I hate working. I hate to work.

I avoid working. I avoid to work.*

Why not? What's going on here? Why can't I say, "I avoid to work"?

Thank you.
  

Top answer

Certain verbs are followed only by the gerund, certain verbs by the infinitive, and certain verbs by either the gerund or the infinitive: Hate can take both structures: I hate working. I hate to work. "Avoid" can´t.

— Learner

  • Certain verbs are followed only by the gerund, certain verbs by the infinitive, and certain verbs by either the gerund or the infinitive: Hate can take both structures: I hate working.
  • I hate to work.
  • "Avoid" can´t.
  • htm
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3 Answers
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Certain verbs are followed only by the gerund, certain verbs by the infinitive, and certain verbs by either the gerund or the infinitive:

Hate can take both structures:

I hate working. I hate to work.

"Avoid" can´t.

It is like "Enjoy" - "I enjoy going out with my friends" not "enjoy to go"

but "Want" - "I want to do my homework" not "want doing"
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I like that link, learner, thanks
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You are welcome, Suzi!

Good you like it Emotion: smile
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