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Please help me clear up my confusion..

I haven't got the foggiest idea if my following phrases are correct, "this term is used to stop doing something, especially stop doing a bad habit."

I think that this statement is already good in its nature, but at the same time, I feel like nobody uses this phrase.

What else I have in mind is "this term is used to stop doing something, especially stop making a bad habit."

I don't want to pair up the word "break" with a habit because my students' English skills are very basic. I would like to pair "stop + gerund + a bad habit." What best verb do I need to use?

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  • Once you have a bad habit you can stop it, but you can also take action to avoid developing a bad habit.
    – Stuart F
    Jan 9 at 8:40

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I would recommend 'give up a bad habit'. You don't 'do' a habit, you 'have' one.

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  • Yes. The opposite of 'pick up' or 'acquire [a bad habit]'. But we'd not say 'He's picked up smoking / etc'. And you 'stop smoking / etc' but not 'stop a bad habit'.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Jan 9 at 14:54
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You don't need make or do or any other verb. Just say "stop a bad habit".

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  • If I embed this phrase, the sentence becomes "this term is used to stop doing something, especially stop a bad habit." Want to clarify if this sentence is correct, then?
    – Abita Yay
    Jan 9 at 2:47
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    It would be stopping because you are referring to the action as a noun.
    – ILEM World
    Jan 9 at 3:18
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In a comment, Hot Licks wrote:

Stop practicing a bad habit.

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