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avoid to do vs avoid doing

Both 'avoid to do' and 'avoid doing' are commonly used, but 'avoid doing' is more widely accepted and preferred in English. 'Avoid to do' is less common and may sound awkward to native speakers.

Last updated: March 31, 2024 • 7372 views

avoid to do

'Avoid to do' is not a commonly used construction in English.

The correct form is 'avoid doing.' Use 'avoid doing' when you want to express the idea of staying away from or not doing something.
  • The Commission favours a negative incentive, the introduction of a ban on discards, on the assumption that bringing everything back to shore will so onerous that fishermen would quickly find ways to avoid having to do that.
  • People looking to avoid the law don't go to hospitals.
  • You know, like... like a big jungle cat that people try to avoid so they don't get eaten.
  • It is important to avoid thresholds which do not take the concrete facts into account.
  • The only way to avoid getting hurt is to do nothing
  • Those who knowingly scheme to evade and avoid taxes do harm to society and should not expect leniency when they are caught, and we must have the tools to catch them.
  • It is something of great importance and consequence and our great responsibility, which we cannot avoid if we want to do more than - I repeat - merely save face, something which can be done in other ways.
  • Try to avoid crossposting: do not ask a question in more than one newsgroup when you do not know which is the right one. Ask in one newsgroup; if it is wrong, you will be told which is right one.
  • Maybe in front of his mother he'll avoid to raise the crowd.
  • Above all, avoid to enemy contact.
  • Any person, in particular pregnant women, who are not taking Siklos should avoid to come in direct contact with the parts when breaking a tablet.
  • Halloween just went from another holiday I was trying to avoid to possibly the greatest night of my life.
  • This pressure equipment must be calculated, designed and constructed so as to avoid to minimize risks of a significant loss of containment from overheating.
  • In this specific case, the common database would enable economic operators in good faith to avoid to enter into business with no reliable counterparts, both from outside and inside the Community.
  • Consequently, it is appropriate to extend the initial derogation to the above-mentioned gas activities in order to treat them on an equal basis and thus to avoid to having two different legal regimes for unjustified reasons.
  • When the ghosts are too fast, you should avoid to eat them if you are near their home. They could go back faster than you think.
  • When and where it is concretely feasible, depending on national healthcare invoice system ('forfait' or not, ...etc), this will avoid to patients to pay up front and to wait for being reimbursed.
  • Is that you could avoid to tell me your age?
  • You have 30 seconds to avoid termination.
  • My father taught me to avoid partnerships.

Alternatives:

  • avoid doing
  • refrain from doing
  • stay away from doing
  • abstain from doing
  • keep from doing

avoid doing

'Avoid doing' is the preferred and more commonly used construction in English.

Use 'avoid doing' when you want to express the idea of staying away from or not doing something.
  • Rationalizations are excuses people use to avoid doing something.
  • We are trying to avoid doing anything extreme.
  • I was trying to find any way I could to avoid doing that.
  • Picking at the pimples will lead to scarring, so avoid doing that.
  • That's not fair, my cell phone is how I avoid doing work.
  • rapporteur. - Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I could in fact repeat much of what has already been said by Commissioner Verheugen but shall avoid doing so.
  • While eating, avoid doing other stuffs like watching TV or reading a newspaper.
  • manual-update, to avoid doing anything to the module automatically.
  • So when gambling avoid doing anything that can be interpreted as being unlucky.
  • The apartment is suitable for people who want to avoid doing the stairs.
  • So, perhaps avoid doing devious and dastardly things from now on.
  • While I appreciate the confidence, general I do this to avoid doing that.
  • In some cases, we also take the tantric vows to avoid doing anything that would jeopardize success in our practice of tantra.
  • "Humanistic" means that we merely avoid doing things that would harm others.
  • Potential victims are most vulnerable when using an ATM, so it's best to avoid doing so.
  • And I think they just found a way to avoid doing either.
  • We must avoid doing the protest that rest on one or two sectors in struggle, warmly supported by all wage earners but isolated in their fight.
  • It would be better to avoid doing that without strong rationale.
  • A caution-boats often stop at Syros (Cyclades) and passengers alight to dine on the quay; one should avoid doing this.
  • I'd like to know the error to avoid doing so again.

Alternatives:

  • avoid to do
  • refrain from doing
  • stay away from doing
  • abstain from doing
  • keep from doing

Related Comparisons

not to do vs to not do mean to do vs meand doing bypass to do vs cause it bypass bypass to do vs cause it bypassed bypass doing vs bypass to do considering doing vs considering to do

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