Common mistake 'afford', 'choose', 'deserve', 'pretend', 'learn', 'strive', 'want' and 'struggle' used with gerund instead of infinitive

Avoiding Common Grammar Mistakes

Using Gerunds Instead of Infinitives

When it comes to using certain verbs, it's important to know whether they should be followed by a gerund or an infinitive. This is a common mistake that can easily be corrected once you understand the rules.

Verbs such as afford, choose, deserve, pretend, learn, strive, want, and struggle are often used incorrectly with gerunds instead of infinitives. Let's take a closer look at these verbs and how they should be used:

Afford: I cannot afford to buy a new car. (Correct) I cannot afford buying a new car. (Incorrect)
Choose: I chose to go to the movies. (Correct) I chose going to the movies. (Incorrect)
Deserve: He deserves to be rewarded for his hard work. (Correct) He deserves being rewarded for his hard work. (Incorrect)
Pretend: They pretend to be superheroes. (Correct) They pretend being superheroes. (Incorrect)
Learn: She learned to play the piano at a young age. (Correct) She learned playing the piano at a young age. (Incorrect)
Strive: We strive to achieve our goals. (Correct) We strive achieving our goals. (Incorrect)
Want: He wants to become a doctor. (Correct) He wants becoming a doctor. (Incorrect)
Struggle: They struggle to make ends meet. (Correct) They struggle making ends meet. (Incorrect)

Remember, if a verb requires an object or another action to follow it, you should use the infinitive form. By avoiding this common mistake, your writing will become more precise and grammatically correct.

And as a helpful tool to avoid such mistakes, you can try using the Linguix grammar checker which can automatically identify and correct errors in your writing.

'afford', 'choose', 'deserve', 'pretend', 'learn', 'strive', 'want' and 'struggle' used with gerund instead of infinitive mistake examples

Incorrect:
We cannot afford spending the whole month in the Alps.

Correct:
We cannot afford to spend the whole month in the Alps.
Incorrect:
Also my name is not Tom Cruise, I can’t afford buying gems.

Correct:
Also my name is not Tom Cruise, I can’t afford to buy gems.
Correct:
We cannot afford to spend the whole month in the Alps.
Correct:
He didn't deserve to lose his job.
Correct:
This book deserves preserving.
Correct:
Please help them choose nursing homes.
Correct:
I learn interesting things.
Correct:
There is a struggle going on in the cabinet.
Correct:
He chose engineering because he did not want to be an academic like his father.
Correct:
Recognizing that market participants are located in various geographical locations, we tried to be sensitive to that and choose meeting locations accordingly.
Correct:
Customers can choose billing and metering services from their ESP.
Correct:
Does every boy have to learn cooking in your school?
Correct:
Choose binding: 34
Correct:
Please do the things you learned using your own skills.
Correct:
Machine learning using finite-state algorithms
Correct:
My goal is ultimately to get this working, but also learn programming at the same time.
Correct:
I really struggle being alone.
Correct:
My goals for this challenge are to stick to the program I choose including rest days and deloads and see where that puts me.
Correct:
If he/she called her/his chosen towing company, he/she could get the car without having to pay Sears one red cent.
Correct:
To enable debug logging, go to the Bitbucket Server administration area and choose Logging and Profiling.
Incorrect:
Creating a macro for the duplication is easy, but I am struggling adding the sequential numbering.

Correct:
Creating a macro for the duplication is easy, but I am struggling to add the sequential numbering.
Correct:
When airing films on television, channels in the UK often choose subtitling over dubbing, even if a dubbing in English exists.

Incorrect:
We don't want hoping for the deal.

Correct:
We don't want to hope for the deal.
Incorrect:
Maybe you want creating an Issue here.

Correct:
Maybe you want to create an Issue here.
Incorrect:
To me that is feature rich and could not be the only want seeking out such capabilities.

Correct:
To me that is feature rich and could not be the only want to seek out such capabilities.
Incorrect:
I want all the settings to be exactly the same for both and don’t want duplicating things.

Correct:
I want all the settings to be exactly the same for both and don’t want to duplicate things.
Incorrect:
McCain wrote that while he supports the legislation, he does not want authorizing provisions in the final appropriations bill.

Correct:
McCain wrote that while he supports the legislation, he does not want to authorize provisions in the final appropriations bill.
Correct:
I’m thinking that I might be misguided in trying to get it to work with the new app and that I can accomplish what I want using only the classic app.
Correct:
We would want Clearing broker to pay executing broker.
Correct:
Tom isn't the kind of person I want dating my daughter.
Correct:
Just temporarily change the DTH for the device to the tweaker, make the changes you want including setting association groups, then change back to your everyday DTH.
Correct:
A thimble can be very useful for sewing, if you don't want bleeding fingers.
Correct:
The belt wants replacing also.

Incorrect:
Maybe you want creating an Issue here.

Correct:
Maybe you want to create an Issue here.
Correct:
I'm not the guy you want making this decision.
Correct:
I think I’ll be able to accomplish what I want using the PageView event.
Incorrect:
They want turning the switch off at the wall to cut current at the light fixture on the ceiling.

Correct:
They want to turn the switch off at the wall to cut current at the light fixture on the ceiling.
Correct:
Please create the products you want using the location "West Wing 500" in Product Manager.
Correct:
Glad to know that you are able to collect the metrics that you wanted using our latest java agent.

Incorrect:
We cannot afford not spending the whole month in the Alps.

Correct:
We cannot afford not to spend the whole month in the Alps.

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