Learn English – When to use “be worth VERBing” and when to use “be worthy VERBing”

expression-choiceword-usage

Consider this sentence:

  1. This movie is worth watching.
  2. This movie is worthy watching.

I am confused about these two words worth and worthy. When should you use “be worth VERBing” and when should you instead use “be worthy VERBing”?

Best Answer

worthy V-ing is not acceptable at all, so I assume you really meant to ask about worthy of V-ing.

worthy of is usually used with a noun, rather than a verb, as in

The esteemed professor is worthy of respect.

This Google Ngram shows that worthy of watching is used a miniscule amount compared to worth watching.

worth V-ing is the normal way to express this, as per this definition:

2.1 Used to suggest that the specified course of action may be advisable: the company’s service schemes are worth checking out