Cambridge directly records scared + to-infinitive and scared of + noun/-ing, so both structures can be explained without inferring unsupported symmetry.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “scared to do something” when fear is attached to taking an action. Use “scared of something” for the object or cause of fear; Cambridge also directly illustrates scared of + -ing.
Key details
Confusion Familyverb-complement
Rule Familyverb-complementation
Termsscared to do, scared of something
Further guidance
Core difference
Cambridge documents scared + to-infinitive and scared of + noun/-ing as attested complement patterns.
Style Boundary
The prepositional of-pattern and the to-infinitive pattern are structurally different; preserve that distinction.
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.
Scared↗ (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct learner-dictionary evidence for scared of + noun/-ing and scared + to-infinitive.
Cambridge directly records amazed + to-infinitive and amazed at + complement, making it an evidence-safe replacement for the unsupported Satisfied proposal.
Oxford directly records both ashamed + to-infinitive and ashamed of + noun/pronoun. The guide compares those attested structures without inventing an unsupported parallel complement.
Oxford directly documents averse to (doing) something. This is a prepositional to + noun/-ing construction, so a bare infinitive should not be assumed to be an interchangeable complement.
Oxford documents the idiomatic adjective pattern bent on (doing) something for determination. The evidence does not license a parallel bent + to-infinitive complement for that same meaning.
