. To ... (afraid to do) and preposition + ~ing (afraid of ~ing)

. To ... (afraid to do) and preposition + ~ing (afraid of ~ing)

A. Afraid to (do) and afraid of (do)ing

I am afraid to do something = I don't want to do it because it is dangerous or the result could be bad. We

use afraid to do for things we do intentionally:

* A lot of people are afraid to go out at night. (= they don't want to go out because it is dangerous--so they

don't go out)

* He was afraid to tell his parents about the broken window. (= he didn't want to tell them because he knew

they would be angry)

I am afraid of something happening = it is possible that something bad will happen (for example, an

accident). We do not use afraid of ~ing for things we do intentionally:

* The path was icy, so we walked very carefully. We were afraid of falling. (= it was possible that we would

fall--not 'we were afraid to fall')

* I don't like dogs. I'm always afraid of being bitten. (not 'afraid to be bitten')

So, you are afraid to do something because you are afraid of something happening as a result:

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

B. Interested in (do)ing and interested to (do)

I'm interested in doing something = I'm thinking of doing it, I'd like to do it:

* I'm trying to sell my car but nobody is interested in buying it. (not 'to buy')

We use interested to especially with hear/see/know/read/learn. I was interested to hear it = 'I heard it and it

was interesting for me':

* I was interested to hear that Diane has got a new job.

* Ask George for his opinion. I would be interested to know what he thinks. (=it would be interesting for me

to know)

This structure is the same as surprised to/delighted to... etc. (see Unit 64C):

* I was surprised to hear that Diane has got a new job.

C. Sorry to (do) and sorry for (do)ing

We usually say sorry to... to apologize when (or just before) we do something:

* I'm sorry to bother you, but I need to talk to you.

We use sorry to (hear/read etc.) to show sympathy with somebody (see Unit 64C):

* I was sorry to hear that Fiona lost her job. (= I was sorry when I heard ...)

You can use sorry for (doing something) to apologize for something you did before:

* (I'm) sorry for shouting at you yesterday. (not 'Sorry to shout ...')

You can also say:

* (I'm) sorry I shouted at you yesterday.

D. Note that we say:

I want to (do)/I'd like to (do) but I'm thinking of (do)ing/I dream of (do)ing

I failed to (do) but I succeeded in (do)ing

I allowed them to (do) but I prevented them from (do)ing

For examples, see Units 53-54 and 61.