VOA名师答疑2023--How to Use Avoid, Prevent

How to Use Avoid, Prevent

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Sergio in Brazil. He asks,

Question:

I would like to know whether there is any difference between "avoid" and "prevent."

Sergio, Brazil.

Answer:

Dear Sergio,

Thank 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.

Avoid

Avoid means to keep away from a person or thing. Here are some examples:

After we had that fight, my sister has been avoiding me.

Pizza makes my stomach hurt, so I avoid eating it.

Note that in these examples, the word that comes after "avoid" can be a noun¹ or a gerund (the -ing form of a verb).

Prevent

Now, 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:

To prevent stomach problems, I do not eat pizza.

In this sentence, several nouns² follow the word "prevent." The meaning is clearly to stop something.

You can also use "prevent" in a more complex sentence with an object followed by a verb. This gives us a more detailed³ idea of stopping someone from doing something. In fact, you will often find the word "from" in sentences with "prevent."

The city wants to prevent drivers from speeding on that road, so they added some speed bumps⁵.

In this example, drivers cannot go too fast because the city placed some raised areas, speed bumps, on the road, forcing cars to slow down.

So, 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.

Words in This Story

bump⁴ – n. a raised area

1 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

2 nouns   

n.名词；名词( noun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 bump   

v.（against,into）碰，颠簸；n.碰撞，隆起物

参考例句：

• I heard a bump in the next room.我听到隔壁房间传来“砰”的一声。
• He got a bad bump on his forehead.他碰得前额隆起一个大包。

5 bumps   

碰撞( bump的名词复数 )； 肿块； 轻微撞车事故； 隆起物

参考例句：

• I had goose bumps when we watched the fireworks. 我们看烟火的时候，我起鸡皮疙瘩。
• E was kind of zig-zagging across the pavement, and I bumps into 'im accidental-like. 他有点歪歪斜斜地在人行道上走，我一不小心撞到了他的怀里。 来自英汉文学