Abstract: It is an open secret that “spend … + to do sth.” has long been treated as a grammatical error， while “spend … （in） doing sth.” stays a victor across the Chinese Mainland. Yet， plenty of linguistic data show that the former has enjoyed its constant presence in formal writing of every kind， so this paper attempts to do it justice through some examples.

Key words: spend … + to do sth., grammatical error, example, justice

摘要： 长期以来，“spend …+ to do sth.”被国人判为语法错误已是公开的秘密，致使大中小学英语教学普遍倒向“spend …+（in） doing something”一说。然而，大量语料事实表明，前者不仅早已存在，而且至今仍频现于正规书面语中，因此，欲借些许例证还其公道。

关键词: spend… + to do sth, 语法误用, 例证, 公道