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M. accustomed, afraid, ashamed, certain, interested, sorry, sure, used

Accustomed

Both structures to be accustomed + infinitive and to be accustomed + -ing
are possible with little difference of meaning:

She is accustomed to walk/to walking home in any weather.

2. afraid
be afraid + infinitive means that the subject is too frightened to perform
the action and he won’t do it:

He is afraid to climb the tree.

(=He doesn’t want to climb the tree because he is afraid)
be afraid + -ing means that we are afraid of bad things that may happen
unexpectedly. We do not use this structure for things we do intentionally:
He didn’t want to tell her this news. He was afraid of making
her upset.

be afraid can also be followed by a that-clause. This can express a fear:
I’m afraid that this illness will ruin him, and (especially in the first
person) regret: I’m afraid (that) I can’t do it in time.

 

3. ashamed
be ashamed + infinitive. The infinitive here usually refers to a subsequent
action:
I’m ashamed to tell you how much I spent.
(= I don’t want to tell you.)
be ashamed of + gerund or be ashamed of yourselfetc. for + gerund.
The gerund here refers to a previous action:
I’m ashamed of shouting at you.
I’m ashamed of myself for shouting at you.
would be ashamed + infinitive often implies that the subject’s feelings
prevent him from performing the action:
I’d be ashamed to borrow money from him. (so I won’t borrow)

 


4. certain, sure
certain/sure
+ infinitive means that the subject will definitely do it:
He is certain/sure to win the race.
(=the other sportsmen are far worse)
certain/sure + gerund means that the person feels certain or sure he will
do it, but he could be wrong:
Starting the experiment he was certain/sure of finding
the solution, but then he began to lose confidence.
In the first case we talk about what will happen, in the second we describe
a person’s state of mind.

5. interested
interested in + -ing refers to what will (may) happen. It means to be interested by the idea of doing something:
I’m interested in buying a house in the village.
(=I’m thinking of doing it, I’d like to do it)
interested+ inf. refers to what has happened. The structure is usual with hear/see/know/read/learn, etc.
I was interested to know that your brother got the scholarship.

6. sorry
sorry + infinitive is used when we apologize for something that we are doing or about to do.
Sorry to interrupt you. I need your advice.
sorry+ infinitive is also used to express sympathy or regret:
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been ill.
sorry for + -ing is used when we apologize for something that we have done. In this case we can also use a perfect infinitive or a that-clause:
I’m sorry for ringing you up so late yesterday.
I’m sorry to have rung you up so late yesterday.
I’m sorry that I rang you up so late yesterday.

7. used
used+ infinitive exists only in he past. It means that the subject did something regularly in the past but no longer does it:
They used to spend much time together but now they do not meet
very often.
be used to + -ing means that something isn’t strange or new for the speaker:
After living in the country for many years he is used to walking
long distances.



THE PARTICIPLES

 


Date: 2015-12-11; view: 915


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H. regret, remember, forget | The Present (or Active) Participle
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