Big A Deal  +  127135 Mon, 15 Aug 05 06:58 AM The boy was afraid to wake up his nasty grandfather The boy was afraid of waking up his nasty grandfather   Is there any difference in meaning? if not, why do the people use twe sentence?   Big A Deal Joined on Thu, Aug 4 2005 In Korea New Member 44 I'm Korean .

	Mister Micawber  +  127151 Mon, 15 Aug 05 09:14 AM Quite similar, and both could be used in the same situation, but to me the first (infinitive) form suggests a specific occasion while the second (-ing) form suggests a general or ongoing fear. I seem to recall a similar discussion on an old thread, which someone may be able to resurrect. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,803 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

	pieanne  +  127193 Mon, 15 Aug 05 11:53 AM Here's one about "to like to do vs to like doing":  [post]101212[post] Why doesn't my link work?  pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

	Big A Deal  +  127203 Mon, 15 Aug 05 12:42 PM I think that your post refer "be afraid of ~ing" that refers to a general moment and "be afraid to Verb" that refers to a particular moment. right? Big A Deal Verbs

	MrPedantic  +  127396 Tue, 16 Aug 05 12:54 AM Possible contexts: 1. "Wake up your grandfather and tell him dinner's ready", said his mother. But the boy was afraid to wake up his grandfather. Whenever he woke him up, his grandfather hit him with his walking stick. 2. The boy sat quietly in the corner. He wanted to play with his toy soldiers; but he was afraid of waking up his grandfather. In #1, the "waking up" would be a deliberate action. In #2, it would be the inadvertent result of another action. MrP MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris...

	paco2004  +  127409 Tue, 16 Aug 05 02:00 AM Hello MrP Your contexts well agree to what my E-J dictionary is saying. It says:       be afraid to do something = not have a courage to do something fearing what follows       be afraid of doing something = feel there would be a danger of doing something       Sometimes 'be afraid of doing' is used in the same sense as 'be afraid to do'. paco paco2004 Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004 Senior Member 4,095 In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English.