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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

scared to vs scared of

0Hi,02br
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00What is the difference between these two sentences below?02br
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00She is scared of going out alone at night.02br
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00She is scared to go out alone at night.02br
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00Thanks a lot.0-
  

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— Feebs11

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11 Answers
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0 They really mean the same.0-
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0As Feebs11 pointed out, meaning is the same but the first is gerund construction and the latter is bare infinitive construct.00 02br
02br
00I like 00to cook00 00= I like 00cooking 00 0-
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0Thank you both Feebs and Goodman for your answers.02br
02br
00Is it possible that you would choose one rather than the other in other situations? Which form is used in the following cases?02br
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001.The student was scared of being caught cheating in the exam.02br
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002.The student was scared to be caught cheating in the exam.02
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1blockquote
01cite10Goodman12cite12br
10As Feebs11 pointed out, meaning is the same but the first is gerund construction and the latter is bare infinitive construct.10 12br
12br
10I like 10to cook10 (the first is gerund construction 10= I like 10cooking 10 (10the latter is bare infinitive)12br
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0 I stand corrected. I had "to cook" and "cooking" somehow reversed in my explanation. Is this clarified? 02br
00I like 00to cook00 (the first is bare infinitive construction )00= I like 00cooking 00 (00the latter is gerund)0-
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1blockquote
01cite10Anonymous12cite12br
10Thank you both Feebs and Goodman for your answers.12br
12br
10Is it possible that you would choose one rather than the other in other situations? Which form is used in the following cases?12br
12br
101.The student was scared of being caught cheating in the exam.12b
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0 In this instance, #1 is preferable.02br
00 #2 is not wrong, just awkward. 0-
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0Hi 02br
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00The student was 01b00scared of02b00 being caught cheating in the exam.02br
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00The student was 01b00afraid of02b00 being caught cheating in the exam.02br
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00Which phrase is more appropriate, 'afraid of' or 'scared of''?02br
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00Many thanks.0-
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0 In this context, I am more inclined to use "afriad of " as this means hesitant to do something out of concerns for concequences .Whereas "scared of " contains an element of fear. I.E. I am scared of the dark/ being alone/ height etc.. 0-
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0 That will depend on the formality of the context. "scared" is less formal than "afraid". 0-
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