Meaning
If you can’t help the way you feel or behave, you cannot control it or stop it happening. Acting in a particular way or making a particular remark, you are/were not able to control or stop it.
Today’s Sentences
- I can’t help feeling sorry for him.
- I can’t help smiling when I see her.
- I can’t help eating so much.
- I can’t help biting my nails.
- I can’t help smoking when I have been drinking.
- Writer’s Note
01
I can’t help feeling sorry for him.
Situation 1
It looks like this little puppy is lost.
He looks so scared.
I can’t help feeling sorry for him.
Let’s walk around and see if anyone is looking for him.
Situation 2
He lost his first big game.
He must be disappointed.
But there are many more games to come!
I can’t help feeling sorry for him.
Maybe show him that a gracious winner or loser can say ‘good game’ after.
02
I can’t help smiling when I see her.
Situation 1
Congratulations on the new addition to your family!
Thank you.
I can’t help smiling when I see her.
You look really happy.
I’m a little scared for the sleepless nights though.
Situation 2
Congratulations on your engagement!
Thank you for coming to the party.
You look really happy.
I can’t help smiling when I see her.
03
I can’t help eating so much.
Situation 1
I was so busy at work today.
Is that why you bought all these snacks?
Yes.
I can’t help eating so much.
I understand.
A stressful day makes me lose track of my appetite.
Situation 2
I have such a sweet tooth.
I do too.
Some days, I can’t help eating so much.
I know what you mean.
04
I can’t help biting my nails.
Situation 1
Are you nervous about something?
Yes, I can’t help biting my nails.
You know, they have special polish for nail biters?
I tried to quit so many times.
Situation 2
Your nails are so short!
Yes, I can’t help biting my nails.
Look at my nails! I’m a nail-biter too.
It looks like we have something in common.
05
I can’t help smoking when I have been drinking.
Situation 1
Is it time for a smoke?
How did you know?
I can’t help smoking when I have been drinking.
It seems like a common habit.
I wish I could control it.
Writer’s Note
The situations above are quite short but I wanted to have to reader imagine the setting of the dialogue. In other words, I want you to understand the context surrounding the given sentence. You should consider context because it provides meaning and clarity to the intended message.
Have you been consistent and diligent in your studies? It’s tricky to set a fixed time to study because we all have work, families, and the unanticipated surprises of life. How has life been treating you? What kind of obstacles stood in your way that kept you from studying?
Hello.
Thank you very much for uploading useful articles and videos every day. I have a question. Can I use “I can’t help but V” in the same way as “I can’t help ~ing”? Are there any differences between those two?
Hello Miwa,
Thank you for visiting us at Welling and very nice to meet you 🥰 Great question, here we go!
Firstly, to answer your question ‘can’t help but’ +V = ‘I can’t help ~ing’ they are very close in meaning. But it’s a matter of grammatical correctness.
1. ‘I can’t help but’ is followed by the bare infinitive(look below). “Can’t help” is followed by the ING-form.
2. What is a bare infinitive? A bare infinitive (also known as bare verb) is a verb form that is used without the word “to”. For example, in the sentence ‘I let him go’ the bare infinitive is ‘go’. ‘I can’t help but eat’, I can’t help but run’, I can’t help but laugh’ etc.
3. ING form examples: ‘I can’t help eating’, ‘I can’t help running’, ‘I can’t help laughing’.
4. To compare, infinitive examples are to love, to eat, to run, to believe, to follow, to laugh, to stare, to wonder.
The meaning is very much the same but grammatically you must use the rules for it to be a usable phrase.
I hope this was helpful. Let us know if you’re still confused!
Please feel free to contact us anytime for further questions.