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Unit 66 — to ... (afraid to do) and preposition + -ing

afraid of -ing


A. afraid to do 和 afraid of doing

这两个结构很像,但意思并不一样。


1. afraid to do something

I am afraid to do something

意思是:

我不敢做某事。

通常是因为:

这件事危险,或者做了以后可能会有不好的结果。

例如:

This part of town is dangerous. People are afraid to walk here at night.

这个城区很危险。

人们晚上不敢在这里走路。

这里:

afraid to walk

表示:

因为觉得危险,所以不愿意 / 不敢去走。


James was afraid to tell his parents what had happened.

James 不敢告诉父母发生了什么。

原因:

he thought they would be angry

他觉得父母可能会生气。


2. afraid of something happening

I am afraid of something happening

意思是:

我担心某件坏事会发生。

也就是:

I am afraid that something bad will happen.

例如:

The path was icy, so we walked very carefully. We were afraid of falling.

路上结冰了,所以我们走得非常小心。

我们担心会摔倒。

这里:

afraid of falling

表示:

害怕“摔倒这件事情发生”。


3. afraid to fall 和 afraid of falling 不一样

图片中特别强调:

We were afraid of falling.

而不是:

❌ afraid to fall

因为这里不是:

“不敢主动去摔倒”

而是:

“担心自己会摔倒”。


4. afraid of being bitten

I don’t like dogs. I’m always afraid of being bitten.

我不喜欢狗。

我总是担心被狗咬。

结构:

afraid of + being + past participle

这里:

being bitten

表示:

被咬。

不是:

❌ afraid to be bitten

因为意思是:

担心“被咬”这个结果发生。


5. afraid to do vs afraid of doing

最重要的对比:

afraid to do = 因为害怕结果,所以不敢做这个动作

而:

afraid of doing / something happening = 害怕某个结果发生

例如:

I was afraid to go near the dog because I was afraid of being bitten.

我不敢靠近那只狗,因为我害怕被咬。


6. 思维模型

afraid to do

I want / could do something
          ↓
    but I hesitate
          ↓
  because it may be dangerous
          ↓
    AFRAID TO DO

例如:

I’m afraid to touch it.

我不敢碰它。


afraid of doing

BAD RESULT
    ↓
may happen
    ↓
I worry about it
    ↓
AFRAID OF -ING

例如:

I’m afraid of breaking it.

我担心把它弄坏。


7. 一组对比

I’m afraid to drive in the snow.

我不敢在雪天开车。

强调:

不敢做“开车”这个动作。


I’m afraid of crashing the car.

我担心撞车。

强调:

害怕“撞车这个结果”。


B. interested in doing 和 interested to do


8. interested in doing

I’m interested in doing something

意思是:

我对做某事感兴趣 / 我正在考虑做这件事 / 我愿意做。

结构:

interested in + -ing

例如:

Let me know if you’re interested in joining the club.

如果你有兴趣加入俱乐部,请告诉我。

不是:

❌ interested to join


I tried to sell my car, but nobody was interested in buying it.

我试着卖掉我的车,但是没有人有兴趣买。

不是:

❌ interested to buy


9. interested in = 对一个活动感兴趣

可以理解为:

be interested in + noun / -ing

例如:

I’m interested in photography.

我对摄影感兴趣。

I’m interested in learning English.

我对学习英语感兴趣。


10. interested to hear / see / know

另一种结构是:

interested to hear / see / know

这里意思不同。

它表示:

听到 / 看到 / 知道某件事让我觉得有意思。

例如:

I was interested to hear that Tanya left her job.

我听说 Tanya 辞职了,觉得这件事很有意思。

意思:

I heard this and it was interesting for me.


11. interested to know

I’ll ask Mike for his opinion. I would be interested to know what he thinks.

我要问问 Mike 的意见。

我很想知道他是怎么想的。

这里:

interested to know

更接近:

“知道这个信息会让我感兴趣”。


12. interested in doing vs interested to know

StructureMeaning
interested in doing对做某事有兴趣
interested to hear/see/know听到/看到/知道某事让我觉得有意思

例如:

I’m interested in learning Japanese.

我对学日语感兴趣。


I was interested to learn that he speaks Japanese.

我得知他会说日语时觉得很有意思。


13. 和 surprised / glad 类似

图片中说明:

interested to hear / see / know

和下面这些结构类似:

surprised to ...

glad to ...

例如:

I was surprised to hear that Tanya left her job.

我听说 Tanya 辞职时很惊讶。


C. sorry for ... and sorry to ...


14. sorry for doing

我们使用:

sorry for doing

来:

为某件已经做过的事情道歉。

例如:

I’m sorry for shouting at you yesterday.

对不起,我昨天冲你大喊了。

不是:

❌ sorry to shout

因为这里是在:

为过去发生的行为道歉。


15. 也可以用完整从句

I’m sorry I shouted at you yesterday.

对不起,我昨天冲你喊了。

所以:

sorry for doing

sorry + clause


16. sorry to hear

sorry to ...

可以表示:

对发生的事情感到遗憾 / 难过。

例如:

I’m sorry to hear that Nicky lost her job.

听说 Nicky 丢了工作,我很难过。

这里不是道歉。

而是:

听到这个消息,我感到遗憾。


17. sorry to leave

I’ve enjoyed my stay here. I’ll be sorry to leave.

我很喜欢待在这里。

要离开时我会觉得很遗憾。

这里:

sorry to leave

表示:

对即将发生的事情感到遗憾。


18. sorry to bother you

我们也可以用:

I’m sorry to ...

在做某件可能打扰别人的事情时进行礼貌表达。

例如:

I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to ask you a question.

不好意思打扰你,但我需要问你一个问题。

这里:

sorry to bother

表示:

我现在要打扰你,所以先表达歉意。


19. sorry for doing vs sorry to do

StructureMeaning
sorry for doing为已经做过的行为道歉
sorry to hear/see...对某件事情感到遗憾
sorry to bother/interrupt...做某事时的礼貌道歉

20. 三个例子

已经做错了

I’m sorry for being late.

对不起,我迟到了。


听到坏消息

I’m sorry to hear that.

听到这个消息我很遗憾。


现在要打扰

I’m sorry to interrupt you.

抱歉打断你。


D. to do 和 preposition + -ing 的固定搭配

图片最后总结了一组非常重要的结构。


21. 后面接 to do 的动词

我们说:

I want to do

I’d like to do

I hope to do

I failed to do

I allowed them to do

I plan to do

I promised to do


22. want to do

I want to go.

我想去。

结构:

want + to + V1


23. would like to do

I’d like to stay here.

我想待在这里。

结构:

would like + to + V1


24. hope to do

I hope to see you again.

我希望再次见到你。


25. fail to do

He failed to answer the question.

他没能回答这个问题。


26. allow somebody to do

They allowed us to leave early.

他们允许我们提前离开。

结构:

allow + somebody + to do


27. plan to do

We plan to travel next month.

我们计划下个月旅行。


28. promise to do

I promised to call her.

我答应给她打电话。


29. 后面接 preposition + -ing 的结构

另外一些表达是:

I’m thinking of doing

I dream of doing

I succeeded in doing

I prevented them from doing

I’m looking forward to doing

I insisted on doing


30. think of doing

I’m thinking of changing my job.

我正在考虑换工作。

结构:

think of + -ing


31. dream of doing

I dream of travelling around the world.

我梦想环游世界。


32. succeed in doing

I succeeded in fixing the problem.

我成功解决了这个问题。


33. prevent somebody from doing

They prevented me from entering the room.

他们阻止我进入房间。


34. look forward to doing

I’m looking forward to seeing you.

我期待见到你。

注意:

这里的 to 是介词。

所以:

to + -ing

不是:

❌ to see


35. insist on doing

She insisted on paying.

她坚持要付钱。


36. 两套结构不要混

第一套:verb + to do

VERB
  ↓
  to
  ↓
  V1

例如:

want to go

hope to see

plan to travel


第二套:verb + preposition + -ing

VERB
  ↓
PREPOSITION
  ↓
  -ING

例如:

think of going

succeed in doing

insist on paying


37. 为什么第二套用 -ing?

因为:

of / in / from / on / to

在这些固定搭配中是:

preposition(介词)

根据 Unit 60:

preposition + verb → -ing

所以:

dream of travelling

succeed in finding

prevent somebody from going

insist on paying


38. afraid 的核心对比

这是本单元最重要的一组:

I’m afraid to do something.

= 我不敢做某事。


I’m afraid of doing something.

= 我害怕某件事情发生 / 害怕产生某个结果


例如:

I’m afraid to ask him.

我不敢问他。


I’m afraid of upsetting him.

我担心惹他不高兴。

两句话可以组合:

I’m afraid to ask him because I’m afraid of upsetting him.

我不敢问他,因为我担心惹他不高兴。


39. interested 的核心对比

interested in doing

= 对“做这件事”感兴趣。

例如:

I’m interested in joining the course.

我有兴趣参加课程。


interested to hear / know / see

= 听到 / 知道 / 看到这件事让我觉得有趣。

例如:

I was interested to hear his opinion.

我很有兴趣听听他的意见。


40. sorry 的核心对比

sorry for doing

= 为已经做过的事情道歉。

I’m sorry for being late.


sorry to hear

= 听到某事感到遗憾。

I’m sorry to hear that.


sorry to bother

= 现在要打扰别人,礼貌道歉。

I’m sorry to bother you.


41. 最容易犯的错误

错误:

❌ I’m afraid of go there.

正确:

I’m afraid of going there.


错误:

❌ I’m afraid to falling.

正确需要根据意思选择:

I’m afraid of falling.

我担心摔倒。

或者:

I’m afraid to climb the ladder.

我不敢爬梯子。


错误:

❌ I’m interested to joining the club.

正确:

I’m interested in joining the club.


错误:

❌ I’m sorry to shouting at you yesterday.

正确:

I’m sorry for shouting at you yesterday.


错误:

❌ I succeeded to find a job.

正确:

I succeeded in finding a job.


错误:

❌ She insisted to pay.

正确:

She insisted on paying.


42. Unit 66 与 Unit 60–62 的联系

前面几个单元实际上形成了一条完整逻辑。

Unit 60

preposition + verb → -ing

例如:

interested in doing


Unit 61

be used to + -ing

例如:

used to living


Unit 62

verb + preposition + -ing

例如:

succeed in doing


Unit 66

现在进一步学习:

有些形容词既可以接:

to do

也可以接:

preposition + -ing

但:

意思会发生变化。


43. 最终结构表

ExpressionStructureMeaning
afraidafraid to do不敢做
afraidafraid of doing担心某事发生
interestedinterested in doing对做某事感兴趣
interestedinterested to hear/know/see听到/知道/看到某事觉得有意思
sorrysorry for doing为做过的事道歉
sorrysorry to hear/see对事情感到遗憾
sorrysorry to bother做某事时礼貌道歉

44. 最终思维模型

afraid

afraid TO DO
     ↓
“我不敢做这个动作”
     ↓
action is dangerous

而:

afraid OF DOING
     ↓
“我怕这个结果发生”
     ↓
bad result may happen

interested

interested IN DOING
       ↓
interested in an activity
       ↓
想做 / 对做某事感兴趣

而:

interested TO HEAR / KNOW
       ↓
reaction to information
       ↓
听到/知道后觉得有意思

sorry

sorry FOR DOING
      ↓
past action
      ↓
apologise

sorry TO HEAR
      ↓
reaction
      ↓
regret / sadness

sorry TO BOTHER
      ↓
action happening now
      ↓
polite apology

45. 一句话记住 Unit 66

I’m afraid to do it. = 我不敢做。

I’m afraid of doing it. = 我怕做了以后出问题 / 怕某个结果发生。

I’m interested in doing it. = 我对做这件事感兴趣。

I was interested to hear it. = 听到这件事我觉得很有意思。

I’m sorry for doing it. = 我为已经做过的事情道歉。

I’m sorry to hear that. = 听到这个消息我很遗憾。

最核心的判断:

to do → 常强调动作 / 反应

preposition + -ing → 常把“做某事”整体当作一件事情来谈