verb + gerund · neutral
avoid + V-ing
Band 4-5speakingtask2
to stay away from doing something; followed by a noun or gerund rather than an infinitive.
Examples
“To reduce stress, she avoids checking work emails after 8 pm.”
“Avoid making the same mistake next time.”
“He avoided answering the question directly.”
Band 8 sentence
“To improve public health, the campaign encourages people to avoid consuming excessive sugar.”
Collocations
- avoid + V-ing (avoid smoking)
- avoid + noun (avoid contact)
Word family
avoid verbavoidance noun
Common mistakes
Please avoid to be late.→Please avoid being late.
She avoids to talk about politics.→She avoids talking about politics.
Say it for a higher band
5try not to + V→6avoid + V-ing→7+avoid + V-ing
Synonyms
prevent (from) + V-ing
keep from + V-ing
Easily confused
prevent + object + from + V-ing
“The heavy rain prevented us from playing football.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Gerunds & infinitives
Learn it with its set