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I am aware that some verbs require the use of a gerund in certain constructions like

"to avoid doing something".

However, does this rule extend to the case that avoid is also used in an -ing form? For example:

"By avoiding doing something, ..."

or do I have to write

"By avoiding to do something, ..."

to obtain a correct English sentence?

herisson
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shiin
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1 Answers1

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"By avoiding doing something" is the correct form.

Depending on the meaning required, verbs will either need to be followed by a present participle (gerund) or by an infinitive form:

"Preparing to do something", "I prepared to do something", "To prepare to do something", etc.

The choice of present participle or infinitive depends entirely on the preceding verb, and will be the same regardless of the form that verb takes.

(Note that there are some verbs where either pres. ppl. or infinitive is possible:

"I hate doing this", "I hate to do this"

Usually in such cases the meaning is different depending on which is used.)

There's more info on this here and here. The former gives examples of verbs that can take either gerund or infinitive, with a note of the change in meaning between the two.

Berthilde
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  • While this is a vast improvement on mplungjan's (in a 'comment') in that it doesn't answer a 'Should I do A or not?' question with 'Yes', and is correct, some support from a recognised grammar say would be a big improvement. Grammar Geeks has:' “Thank you for considering voting.” It passes for me, how about you?' ... [not] two gerunds--isn't "considering" functioning as a verb? So, just as you could say "Thank you for considering me / lobster," you can see "Thank for considering voting" ... // A more authoritative source? – Edwin Ashworth Aug 29 '14 at 08:29
  • Thanks, Edwin! I've added a couple of web references - I think the University of Toronto one should be pretty authoritative, and the other has some interesting content so I've added it as well. – Berthilde Aug 29 '14 at 08:38
  • While they're excellent and valuable articles, neither seems to give a single example licensing say 'avoiding looking' (ie -ing form + -ing form). While logically there should be no problem for this particular usage, English and logic are often rather different animals. // Also, it's better to add an attribution and hotlink in an answer. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 29 '14 at 08:46
  • Saying that the choice of present participle or infinitive depends entirely on the preceding verb is easily misleading since many/most of those verbs can take both. – msam Aug 29 '14 at 11:51
  • @Edwin: Are you looking for Ross's paper on the "Doubl-ing" Constraint? The first page (free on JSTOR) states the problem and suggests what is known. – John Lawler Aug 29 '14 at 14:59
  • @John Lawler: The name 'Perlmutter' rings a bell (and not just from reading the 'Dirk Pitt' novels). I seem to remember this question coming up here before, and claiming that the general public (at least in the UK) seem quite tolerant of -ing + -ing constructions (eg almost half a million returns on Google for "stopping smoking"); I'm not sure that Ross is so tolerant. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 29 '14 at 15:44
  • @msam: Berthilde addresses that complication. But the first verb does determine what catenations are acceptable (-ing form and/or base form and/or to-infinitive; DO + -ing form, etc). – Edwin Ashworth Aug 29 '14 at 15:52
  • @John Lawler: Pullum and Zwicky re-examine Ross's double-ing constraint in this 1999 article. They come up with developing refinements of the double-ing constraint, adding the caveat 'in most varieties of modern English' to their statement about which subset of -ing + -ing constructions is the 'not acceptable' collection. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 29 '14 at 16:12
  • Yes, it's a very puzzling constraint. Most native speakers seem to feel something funny about it, but it doesn't really feel ungrammatical, just ... awkward, somehow. – John Lawler Aug 29 '14 at 16:15
  • I'd */? 'Keeping trying when the odds are stacked against you shows great strength of character', but adding 'on' seems to make a vast difference. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 29 '14 at 20:02