it helps avoiding

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "it helps avoiding" is not correct in standard written English.
The correct form would be "it helps to avoid" or "it helps avoid." Example: "Using a planner helps to avoid last-minute stress before deadlines."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

(ii) Since it helps avoiding an explicit separation between harmonics and noise, it provides a solid and uniform framework for speech manipulation thus, avoiding artifacts near the voicing boundaries [21].

EURASIP Journal on Audio, Speech, and Music Processing

This arrangement is obviously beneficial in that it helps avoiding detection and arrest, but it leaves the buyer in the dark.

Vice

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

Importantly too, it helps avoid 'burnout', that irritating, frustrating, poorer performance you may experience with mental tasks.

Independent

It helps avoid the risks of lawsuits, verbal abuse or even more serious situations such as workplace violence".

The New York Times

Moreover, it helps avoid viscosity related processing issues due to the addition of CNTs to epoxy.

Carbon

Proponents of the program say it helps U.S. businesses stay competitive and it helps avoid outsourcing.

TechCrunch

It helps avoid any confusion and misconceptions by defining the necessary inputs, outputs, and component functions of a watermarking scheme.

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing

It helps avoid any potential conflicts or security breaches such as unauthorized or illegal access to Cloud resources.

Complex Adaptive Systems Modeling

The study of dynamic equations on time scales reveals such discrepancies, and it helps avoid proving results twice-once for differential equations and once again for difference equations.

Advances in Difference Equations

"On the one hand, it helps Syria come out of the crisis and, on the other, it helps avoid the war against Syria depriving those who wanted to launch it of arguments to do so," Mr Haidar said.

BBC

The third way activates our creative potential; it helps avoid the pain of the bad situation and gives us positive momentum.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When aiming to convey that something provides assistance in preventing an action or situation, it's more grammatically sound to use "it helps to avoid" or "it helps avoid". This ensures clarity and adheres to standard English grammar.

Common error

Avoid using a gerund (avoiding) directly after "helps" without the infinitive marker "to". The correct phrasing should be "it helps to avoid" or "it helps avoid" to ensure grammatical correctness.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "it helps avoiding" functions as a clause where "it" is the subject, "helps" is the verb, and "avoiding" acts as a gerund. However, as Ludwig AI points out, this construction is grammatically incorrect in standard English.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

50%

Wiki

0%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "it helps avoiding" appears in some contexts, it's generally considered grammatically incorrect. Ludwig AI identifies that standard English prefers "it helps to avoid" or "it helps avoid". Although examples can be found across different sources, including science and news media, it's best practice to opt for the grammatically correct alternatives in formal writing to ensure clarity and precision. Using the corrected phrases strengthens the message that something aids in preventing a particular action or situation.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

it helps to avoid

Adds the infinitive marker 'to' for grammatical correctness.

it aids in avoiding

Replaces 'helps' with 'aids' and maintains the gerund form.

it assists in avoiding

Substitutes 'helps' with 'assists' while keeping the gerund.

it is helpful in avoiding

Changes the structure to use 'helpful' as an adjective.

it contributes to avoiding

Emphasizes the contribution towards avoidance.

it facilitates avoiding

Indicates that something makes avoidance easier.

it serves to avoid

Highlights the purpose of something in preventing something else.

it is useful for avoiding

Focuses on the utility of something in preventing something else.

it plays a role in avoiding

Suggests that something has a part in preventing something else.

it is instrumental in avoiding

Highlights the importance of something in the context of preventing another thing.

FAQs

How do I properly use the phrase "it helps"?

The phrase "it helps" is typically followed by a verb in the infinitive form (e.g., "it helps to understand") or a bare infinitive (e.g., "it helps understand"). Using a gerund directly after "helps" is generally considered grammatically incorrect.

What's a grammatically correct alternative to "it helps avoiding"?

Instead of "it helps avoiding", use "it helps "to avoid"" or "it helps "avoid"" for grammatical correctness.

Is "it helps to avoid" the same as "it assists in avoiding"?

While both convey a similar meaning, "it helps "to avoid"" is simpler and more direct. "It assists in avoiding" is also correct and more formal, but might sound slightly more verbose.

When should I use "it helps to avoid" versus "it helps avoid"?

Both "it helps to avoid" and "it helps avoid" are generally acceptable. The version with "to" is more explicit about the infinitive, but the bare infinitive is also widely used and considered correct in modern English.