Avoid Doing vs. Avoid To Do
When avoid is followed directly by another verb, standard usage uses the -ing form: “avoid making,” “avoid using,” and similar patterns. A direct “avoid to do” construction is not the reviewed pattern.
Use “avoid doing,” not “avoid to do,” when avoid is followed directly by another verb. Cambridge explicitly gives the -ing pattern and rejects the direct to-infinitive pattern.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Following complement | Standard pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| action directly after avoid | avoid + -ing | refrain from the activity |
| noun | avoid + noun | keep away from the thing |
| to-infinitive | not the reviewed direct complement | do not substitute for -ing |
Quick tests
Direct-complement test
Does another verb immediately express the action being avoided?
If yes: Use the -ing form after “avoid.”
If no: Use a noun if avoiding a thing; do not use a direct to-infinitive for the reviewed meaning.
Caveat: The rule concerns the complement selected by “avoid,” not every later infinitive elsewhere in the sentence.
Examples
Avoid opening unknown attachments.
The avoided action appears in the -ing form.
We avoided the flooded road.
A noun can be the direct object.
Avoid to open unknown attachments.
Better: Avoid opening unknown attachments.
The direct verbal complement should be -ing.
Further guidance
Boundary
A to-infinitive can appear elsewhere in a sentence for another purpose, but it is not the direct complement pattern after avoid.
Construction
Cambridge’s grammar guidance says that when avoid is followed by a verb, that verb takes the -ing form.
Decision
Choose “avoid doing” for a direct verb complement; do not substitute “avoid to do.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Word patterns: avoid doing something — Cambridge Grammar (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary / English Grammar Today · Avoid + -ing and rejection of direct avoid + to-infinitive
- Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Verb-complement patterns, including verbs taking -ing, to-infinitive, or both with meaning differences