How to Use Avoid, Prevent
2023-01-28
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1This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Sergio in Brazil. He asks,
2I would like to know whether there is any difference between "avoid" and "prevent."
3Sergio, Brazil.
4Dear Sergio,
5Thank you for writing to us with this question.
6These words are similar - they both express the idea of staying away from something.
7Let us look at the meaning of each word and then we will compare how they are used.
8Avoid means to keep away from a person or thing. Here are some examples:
9After we had that fight, my sister has been avoiding me.
10Pizza makes my stomach hurt, so I avoid eating it.
11Note that in these examples, the word that comes after "avoid" can be a noun or a gerund (the -ing form of a verb).
12Now, consider the word "prevent." It means to take some action to stop something from happening.
13It can be used in a simple way with a noun.
14So, going back to our previous example:
15To prevent stomach problems, I do not eat pizza.
16In this sentence, several nouns follow the word "prevent." The meaning is clearly to stop something.
17You can also use "prevent" in a more complex sentence with an object followed by a verb.
18This gives us a more detailed idea of stopping someone from doing something.
19In fact, you will often find the word "from" in sentences with "prevent."
20The city wants to prevent drivers from speeding on that road, so they added some speed bumps.
21In this example, drivers cannot go too fast because the city placed some raised areas, speed bumps, on the road, forcing cars to slow down.
22So, Sergio, if you are trying to decide between avoid and prevent, think about this difference.
23"Avoid" is just staying away from something you do not like or want.
24"Prevent" is to take an action that keeps someone from doing something or keeps something from happening.
25Do you have a question for the teacher? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
26And that's Ask a Teacher!
27I'm Jill Robbins.
1This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Sergio in Brazil. He asks, 2Question: 3I would like to know whether there is any difference between "avoid" and "prevent." 4Sergio, Brazil. 5Answer: 6Dear Sergio, 7Thank you for writing to us with this question. These words are similar - they both express the idea of staying away from something. Let us look at the meaning of each word and then we will compare how they are used. 8Avoid 9Avoid means to keep away from a person or thing. Here are some examples: 10After we had that fight, my sister has been avoiding me. 11Pizza makes my stomach hurt, so I avoid eating it. 12Note that in these examples, the word that comes after "avoid" can be a noun or a gerund (the -ing form of a verb). 13Prevent 14Now, consider the word "prevent." It means to take some action to stop something from happening. It can be used in a simple way with a noun. So, going back to our previous example: 15To prevent stomach problems, I do not eat pizza. 16In this sentence, several nouns follow the word "prevent." The meaning is clearly to stop something. 17You can also use "prevent" in a more complex sentence with an object followed by a verb. This gives us a more detailed idea of stopping someone from doing something. In fact, you will often find the word "from" in sentences with "prevent." 18The city wants to prevent drivers from speeding on that road, so they added some speed bumps. 19In this example, drivers cannot go too fast because the city placed some raised areas, speed bumps, on the road, forcing cars to slow down. 20So, Sergio, if you are trying to decide between avoid and prevent, think about this difference. "Avoid" is just staying away from something you do not like or want. "Prevent" is to take an action that keeps someone from doing something or keeps something from happening. 21Do you have a question for the teacher? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. 22And that's Ask a Teacher! 23I'm Jill Robbins. 24Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 25_________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27bump - n. a raised area 28_________________________________________________________________ 29What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 30Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them.