Question

She can't help ________ the house because she's busy making a cake.

1. A.
   to clean
2. B.
   cleaning
3. C.
   cleans
4. D.
   cleaned

Answer 1

A
此题容易误选B，简单地套用can't help doing sth这一结构。其实此题应选A，注意以下两个结构均可用，但是含义不同：can't help doing sth =禁不住做某事，情不自禁地做某事；can't help to do sth =不能帮助做某事。前者为引申用法，一般辞书均将其作为固定搭配列出来，许多老师对此也比较强调，从而就使同学们形成了思维定势；而后者为help表示“帮助”时的本义用法，因同学们平时对此不大注意，一看到上面的试题马上就联想到can't help doing sth这一结构，从而误选了B。