admit doing something
Advanced Chunks – Category 7

Meaning

to confess or acknowledge that you did something, often something wrong

Primary Function

accepts responsibility

Communicative Purpose

to confess, acknowledge truth

Pattern

admit doing

Core Structure

admit doing

Função primária

accepts responsibility

Propósito comunicativo

to confess, acknowledge truth

Situações de gatilho

apologies, confessions, honest admissions

Contextos

everyday, professional, legal

Padrão

admit doing

Estrutura central

admit doing

Slots de substituição

[making a mistake/cheating/being wrong]

Colocados típicos

  • freely
  • openly
  • readily
  • finally
  • must
  • refuse to admit doing

Substituições comuns

  • confess to doing
  • acknowledge doing
  • grant that

Erros comuns

using infinitive: *admit to do; using *admit doing with ‘to’ is alternative

Similar / contraste

confess to doing, acknowledge, come clean about

Interferências

some learners use ‘admit to do’ – incorrect

Família do chunk

  • confess to
  • acknowledge
  • own up to
  • come clean about

Nuance

‘admit doing’ is standard; ‘admit to doing’ is slightly more formal; ‘confess to’ suggests guilt

Efeito pragmático

shows honesty and accountability

Dica de memória

admit errors

Nota

The chunk 'admit doing something' is used to acknowledge actions, often negative, with 'admit to doing' being a more formal alternative. Avoid using the infinitive form (e.g., 'admit to do').

Upgrade path

use ‘confess to’ for serious admissions, ‘acknowledge’ for formal

Frequência: HighFormulaicidade: Semi-fixedTipo de construção: Verb-complement (gerund)Prioridade de aquisição: Automatic productionPrioridade de output: BothTag de espaçamento: Immediate

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