word choice - What's the difference between "afraid of + verb" and "afraid to + verb"?


What's the difference between "afraid of + verb" and "afraid to + verb"?


Isn't "afraid of" used more for generalisations and "afraid to" for a particular situation? For example:


She's afraid of touching spiders.


She's afraid to touch the spider.



Answer



With some verbs, there is certainly a distinct difference.



She is afraid of taking the path that leads through the crocodile-infested swamp



would usually be taken as meaning 'She is very worried that she might accidentally choose the dangerous route'.



She is afraid to take the path that leads through the crocodile-infested swamp



means 'She doesn't want to venture that way'.


Afraid to V means anxious, perhaps cripplingly so, about a certain choice. So you wouldn't say 'I'm afraid to slip on a banana skin.'


Afraid of Ving might mean the same, but means 'afraid that N might happen by chance' if that reading is possible. 'Afraid of slipping' means 'afraid that a slip might well occur'. But 'afraid of flying' doesn't have the 'happen by chance' reading available.


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