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Recently, I came across a fill-in-the-blank.

It's no use ______ (worry) about it.

The right answer as told by my teacher is "worrying", why is "to worry" not right?

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  • Note that sometimes this kind of exercise or test (especially the more carefully designed ones) doesn't instruct the student to choose the only correct choice, but rather the best choice. If choosing the best choice is the instruction, then it's fair to answer worrying. On the other hand, if the key of the exercise/test states that worrying is the only correct choice, and to worry is always incorrect, I'd think that the exercise/test is not a well-designed one.
    – Damkerng T.
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 10:31

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It's no use is always followed by a gerund.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/it-s-no-use-doing-something

There's no rule. You need to learn each expression by itself.

You can Google expressions that are followed by gerunds.

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  • It's no use to deny the possibility.
    – user3169
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 3:20
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    @user3169 It's no use denying the possibility. (whatever you hear in songs)
    – Cathy Gartaganis
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 3:23
  • @NaokiRinmous You're welcome.
    – Cathy Gartaganis
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 7:50
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    Nowadays, the gerund is almost always used, but you'll find plenty of examples of the to-infinitive in the 19th century.
    – TimR
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 12:17
  • @TRomano The question was about current English, answered as such.
    – Cathy Gartaganis
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 12:18
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I think your teacher is confused probably with "there is no use -ING" construction such as

There is no use doing something.

"It is no use worrying about it" is (far) more broadly used than "It is no use to worry about it". However, it doesn't necessarily mean you can never use the latter.

The it is an expletive (See No. 2 definition) pronoun used as a dummy subject and both to infinitive or gerund could be used in the sentence.

Your teacher's confusion could have been caused by the very popular idiom "It's no use crying over spilled (spilt) milk".

Sometimes, it is difficult to explain when we should use gerund in place of to infinitive as their functions overlap in many cases. It is even more difficult to explain why using either of them is wrong or sounds unidiomatic.

As far as I understand, when an expletive pronoun it is used, it is okay to use both of them. But in the case of "it is no use" construction, gerund is much preferred. When "there" is used as a dummy subject, a gerund should be used.

A side note: Can you show this answer to your teacher and get his/her feedback and let me know it in a comment?

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  • :D She's still saying that "to worry" is a wrong answer, as "worrying" is the only right usage according to the rule in her textbook. Anyway, thanks for confirming.
    – Deno
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 7:40
  • @NaokiRinmous Your teacher is right. It's no use cannot be followed by a full infinitive.
    – Cathy Gartaganis
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 7:51
  • @NaokiRinmous Well, I would be hesitant to use the word "wrong" when it makes sense. It might be less idiomatic, but I don't think it is wrong.
    – user24743
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 8:12
  • An example by Ernest Hemingway: It's no use to walk ahead and find there's nothing coming behind you.
    – Damkerng T.
    Commented May 13, 2016 at 10:27

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