English Usage
Accuse Someone Of Doing vs. Accuse Someone To Do
Cambridge records “accuse someone of something” and specifically “accuse someone of doing something.” That supports of + -ing when the action is the alleged wrongdoing.
Verb Forms
Comparisons where tense, participles, or inflection determine the correct form.
Guides in this topic
English Usage
Accustom Yourself To Doing vs. Accustom Yourself To Do
Cambridge directly gives accustom yourself to followed by an -ing form for becoming familiar with new conditions. The to belongs to the prepositional construction accustom yourself to something; do not infer an equivalent to-infinitive from the surface word to.
English Usage
Accustomed To Doing vs. Accustomed To Do
Cambridge records accustomed to something and gives -ing examples such as being accustomed to working or being treated in a particular way. Do not interpret the “to” after accustomed as an infinitive marker in this construction.
English Usage
Action Verbs vs. Stative Verbs
Action verbs describe actions or events and commonly allow both simple and continuous forms. Stative verbs describe states such as possession, perception, belief, or relationship and usually prefer simple forms, although some verbs change behavior when their meaning changes.
English Usage
Adapt To Doing vs. Adapt To Do
Cambridge distinguishes adapt to a situation or activity from transitive patterns such as adapting plans to fit new circumstances. The surface sequence “adapt … to + verb” therefore needs its grammatical structure identified before choosing an -ing form or infinitive.
English Usage
Adapt vs. Adopt
“Adapt” and “adopt” are different verbs. Adapt means changing something for new conditions or uses; adopt can mean accepting or beginning to use something, alongside other distinct senses.
English Usage
Admit Doing vs. Admit To Do
Cambridge documents both admit + -ing and admit to + -ing for acknowledging something. Other passive patterns such as “be admitted to be” are separate constructions.
English Usage
Advise Doing vs. Advise Someone To Do
Both patterns are standard. “Advise waiting” recommends an action generally or in context, while “advise him to wait” names the person who is advised to perform it. A that-clause is another standard option.
English Usage
Afford Doing vs. Afford To Do
When “afford” is followed directly by another verb, standard learner references use a to-infinitive: “afford to do.” An -ing form can appear elsewhere in a sentence, but it is not a like-for-like direct complement after “afford.”
English Usage
Agree Doing vs. Agree To Do
“Agree to do” expresses consent to take an action. An -ing form normally follows a preposition in patterns such as “agree with doing,” which expresses approval rather than the direct promise-to-act construction.
English Usage
Aim Doing vs. Aim To Do
Cambridge documents aim + to-infinitive for intention and aim at for directing effort toward an objective. Do not omit the preposition and present bare “aim doing” as equivalent to “aim to do.”
English Usage
Allow Doing vs. Allow Someone To Do
“Allow” can take an activity as its object, as in “allow smoking,” or a person/thing followed by a to-infinitive, as in “allow visitors to enter.” The patterns answer different structural questions: what is allowed versus who is allowed to do what.
English Usage
Apologize For Doing vs. Apologize To Do
Cambridge distinguishes “apologize to someone” from “apologize for something/doing something.” You can combine the two roles, as in “apologize to someone for doing something”; “to” marks the recipient while “for” marks the reason.
English Usage
Appall vs. Appal
“Appall” and “appal” are regional spelling variants of the same verb. Cambridge labels “appal” UK and “appall” US.
English Usage
Appear Doing vs. Appear To Do
Cambridge describes appear as a linking verb and with a to-infinitive; a progressive action can sit inside that infinitive, as in “appears to be working.” An -ing form after appear can belong to another structure or sense, so “appear doing” is not a free alternative to “appear to do.”
English Usage
Apply Yourself To Doing vs. Apply Yourself To Do
Oxford documents apply yourself to (doing) something for working hard and attentively at a task. This apply-yourself construction takes prepositional to; other senses of apply use different complements and should not be merged into this pattern.
English Usage
Appreciate Doing vs. Appreciate To Do
Cambridge documents appreciate with an -ing clause, including an expressed subject such as “your making the effort.” Appreciate also takes nouns and clauses (“appreciate that …”); those alternatives do not create a direct appreciate + to-infinitive pattern.
English Usage
Approve Of Doing vs. Approve To Do
Cambridge distinguishes intransitive “approve of” for a favorable opinion from transitive “approve something” for official acceptance or authorization. The official-authorization sense uses transitive “approve” with an object; do not collapse that separate sense into the “approve of doing” judgment pattern.
English Usage
Argue Someone Into Doing vs. Argue Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “argue somebody into doing something” for persuading somebody by giving reasons. The cited construction evidence directly supports into + -ing; it does not license “argue someone to do” as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Arrange Doing vs. Arrange To Do
Oxford documents arrange + to-infinitive and arrange for + noun/pronoun + to-infinitive, alongside ordinary transitive uses of “arrange.” These patterns distinguish who is to act without requiring a bare gerund complement.
English Usage
Ask Someone To Do vs. Ask Doing
When ask means request an action from a person, Cambridge documents ask + person + to-infinitive. Bare “ask doing” is not the ordinary request complement for that meaning.
English Usage
Ate vs. Eaten
“Ate” and “eaten” are different forms of the irregular verb “eat.” “Ate” is the simple past, while “eaten” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Attempt Doing vs. Attempt To Do
Oxford presents the verb “attempt” with a to-infinitive or a direct noun object. Its noun entry separately documents “attempt at doing,” so “attempt doing” should not be treated as an interchangeable verb-complement alternative to “attempt to do.”
English Usage
Avoid Doing vs. Avoid To Do
When avoid is followed directly by another verb, standard usage uses the -ing form: “avoid making,” “avoid using,” and similar patterns. A direct “avoid to do” construction is not the reviewed pattern.
English Usage
Awoke vs. Awoken
“Awoke” is the simple-past form of the literary verb “awake,” while “awoken” is its past participle. Cambridge also records “awaked” as a US simple-past variant, so the guide keeps that regional option visible.
English Usage
Badger Someone Into Doing vs. Badger Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents both badger + object + into + -ing and badger + object + to-infinitive for repeated pressure or requests that push someone toward an action. The verb also covers repeated questioning, so context must show whether the sentence is about persistent persuasion or interrogation rather than assuming every use names a requested action.
English Usage
Bamboozle Someone Into Doing vs. Bamboozle Someone To Do
Cambridge directly illustrates bamboozle + object + into + -ing for deceiving someone so that the person takes an action. The cited entry does not establish bamboozle + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative, so this guide does not manufacture a two-way rule.
English Usage
Ban Someone From Doing vs. Ban Someone To Do
Oxford documents the person-action pattern as be banned + from + -ing and separately documents direct-object uses of ban. The cited evidence does not support person + to-infinitive as the equivalent prohibition construction.
English Usage
Bar Someone From Doing vs. Bar Someone To Do
Cambridge records bar + person + from + doing for officially preventing or disallowing an action. Bar also has direct-object and bar-to-place patterns, but person + to-infinitive is not the parallel action complement.
English Usage
Be Afraid To Do vs. Afraid Of Something
Be Afraid To Do vs. Afraid Of Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “afraid.” Use afraid + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use afraid of + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Alarmed To Do vs. Alarmed At Something
Be Alarmed To Do vs. Alarmed At Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “alarmed.” Use alarmed + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use alarmed at + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Amazed To Do vs. Amazed At Something
Cambridge directly records amazed + to-infinitive and amazed at + complement, making it an evidence-safe replacement for the unsupported Satisfied proposal.
English Usage
Be Amused To Do vs. Amused By Something
Be Amused To Do vs. Amused By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “amused.” Use amused + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use amused by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The guide stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Annoyed To Do vs. Annoyed About Something
Be Annoyed To Do vs. Annoyed About Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “annoyed.” Use annoyed + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use annoyed about + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Anxious To Do vs. Anxious About Something
Cambridge directly records anxious about + noun and anxious + to-infinitive, with a useful meaning contrast between worry and eagerness.
English Usage
Be Ashamed To Do vs. Ashamed Of Something
Oxford directly records both ashamed + to-infinitive and ashamed of + noun/pronoun. The guide compares those attested structures without inventing an unsupported parallel complement.
English Usage
Be Astonished To Do vs. Astonished At Something
Be Astonished To Do vs. Astonished At Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “astonished.” Use astonished + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use astonished at + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Astounded To Do vs. Astounded By Something
Be Astounded To Do vs. Astounded By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “astounded.” Use astounded + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use astounded at/by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The guide stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Averse To Doing vs. Averse To Do
Oxford directly documents averse to (doing) something. This is a prepositional to + noun/-ing construction, so a bare infinitive should not be assumed to be an interchangeable complement.
English Usage
Be Bent On Doing vs. Bent To Do
Oxford documents the idiomatic adjective pattern bent on (doing) something for determination. The evidence does not license a parallel bent + to-infinitive complement for that same meaning.
English Usage
Be Bound To Do vs. Bound For Somewhere
Be Bound To Do vs. Bound For Somewhere separates two distinct Oxford-documented senses. Bound to do/be expresses certainty or likelihood, while bound for + destination describes travel toward a place. The guide keeps those senses separate from legal or duty-bound uses.
English Usage
Be Busy Doing vs. Busy To Do
Cambridge directly documents busy + -ing for being occupied with an activity, and separately documents too busy to do something. Busy doing and too busy to do are different constructions with different meanings. Do not treat bare busy to do as a direct alternative to busy doing.
English Usage
Be Capable Of Doing vs. Capable To Do
Cambridge directly documents capable of something/doing something for having the ability, power, or qualities needed to do something. The documented adjective complement is capable of + noun or -ing form; do not replace the prepositional complement with capable to + infinitive on the basis of meaning alone.
English Usage
Be Careful To Do vs. Careful About Something
Oxford directly records careful + to-infinitive and careful about + noun/gerund, supporting this complement comparison.
English Usage
Be Certain To Do vs. Certain Of Something
Cambridge directly records certain + to-infinitive and certain of + noun, allowing the two attested structures to be compared without claiming they are freely interchangeable.
English Usage
Be Concerned To Do vs. Concerned About Something
Be Concerned To Do vs. Concerned About Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “concerned.” Use concerned + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use concerned about + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Content To Do vs. Content With Something
Cambridge directly records content + to-infinitive and content with + noun, supporting this narrow complement comparison.
English Usage
Be Curious To Know vs. Curious About Something
Cambridge directly records curious + to-infinitive (including curious to know) and curious about + noun, supporting this narrow contrast.
English Usage
Be Dedicated To Doing vs. Dedicated To Do
Oxford directly documents dedicated to doing something. The cited construction treats to as part of the prepositional complement, so an infinitive should not be inferred as an equivalent just because the spelling is the same.
English Usage
Be Delighted To Do vs. Delighted With Something
Cambridge directly records delighted + to-infinitive and delighted with + noun, making this an evidence-safe replacement for the already-owned Keen intent.
English Usage
Be Disappointed To Do vs. Disappointed With Something
Be Disappointed To Do vs. Disappointed With Something distinguishes two attested complement patterns for the same adjective. Use disappointed + to-infinitive for the adjective followed by its documented complement pattern; use disappointed with + noun phrase for the separately documented construction. The constructions are not interchangeable simply because they share the adjective; choose the pattern that matches the grammatical relationship you mean.
English Usage
Be Disgusted To Do vs. Disgusted By Something
Be Disgusted To Do vs. Disgusted By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “disgusted.” Use disgusted + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use disgusted by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Dismayed To Do vs. Dismayed By Something
Be Dismayed To Do vs. Dismayed By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “dismayed.” Use dismayed + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use dismayed by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Distressed To Do vs. Distressed By Something
Be Distressed To Do vs. Distressed By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “distressed.” Use distressed + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use distressed by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Dying To Do vs. Dying For Something
Cambridge directly documents be dying for/to do something as an informal expression of strong desire, supporting both complement patterns without extrapolation.
English Usage
Be Eager To Do vs. Eager For Something
Cambridge directly records eager to do and eager for something. The guide compares those supported structures rather than manufacturing a gerund alternative.
English Usage
Be Elated To Do vs. Elated By Something
Be Elated To Do vs. Elated By Something compares two directly documented complement patterns for “elated.” Oxford evidence supports an infinitival use as well as elated at/by + noun phrase, so the guide explains the construction choice without generalizing from synonyms.
English Usage
Be Eligible To Do vs. Eligible For Something
Be Eligible To Do vs. Eligible For Something distinguishes Oxford’s directly documented eligible to + verb and eligible for + noun phrase patterns. The choice depends on whether eligibility is framed as an action or as eligibility for a benefit, status, role, or other noun phrase.
English Usage
Be Embarrassed To Do vs. Embarrassed About Something
Be Embarrassed To Do vs. Embarrassed About Something distinguishes two attested complement patterns for the same adjective. Use embarrassed + to-infinitive for the adjective followed by its documented complement pattern; use embarrassed about + noun phrase for the separately documented construction. The constructions are not interchangeable simply because they share the adjective; choose the pattern that matches the grammatical relationship you mean.
English Usage
Be Excited To Do vs. Excited About Something
Cambridge directly documents excited + to-infinitive and excited about + noun/event. The choice follows the supported complement structure rather than an invented symmetry.
English Usage
Be Famous As Something vs. Famous For Something
Be Famous As Something vs. Famous For Something compares Oxford’s directly documented patterns. Famous as identifies the role or capacity in which a person or thing is famous, while famous for names the work, quality, achievement, product, or feature that is the basis of that fame.
English Usage
Be Fascinated To Do vs. Fascinated By Something
Be Fascinated To Do vs. Fascinated By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “fascinated.” Use fascinated + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use fascinated by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The guide stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Fit To Do vs. Fit For Something
Be Fit To Do vs. Fit For Something distinguishes the directly documented fit to + verb and fit for + noun phrase patterns. Oxford uses both in suitability and health contexts, so the guide focuses on how the complement frames an action versus a purpose, duty, person, or thing.
English Usage
Be Flattered To Do vs. Flattered By Something
Be Flattered To Do vs. Flattered By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “flattered.” Use flattered + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use flattered by/at + noun phrase or -ing form for the separately documented prepositional construction. The guide stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Fond Of Doing vs. Fond To Do
Cambridge documents fond of + noun/-ing for liking people, things, or activities. The page therefore preserves the preposition of rather than inventing an infinitive alternative.
English Usage
Be Fortunate To Do vs. Fortunate In Something
Be Fortunate To Do vs. Fortunate In Something distinguishes two attested complement patterns for the same adjective. Use fortunate + to-infinitive for the adjective followed by its documented complement pattern; use fortunate in + noun phrase for the separately documented construction. The constructions are not interchangeable simply because they share the adjective; choose the pattern that matches the grammatical relationship you mean.
English Usage
Be Free To Do vs. Free From Something
Cambridge directly records free to do something and free from something, supporting a comparison of these distinct complement meanings.
English Usage
Be Frightened To Do vs. Frightened Of Something
Be Frightened To Do vs. Frightened Of Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “frightened.” Use frightened + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use frightened of + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Glad To Do vs. Glad About Something
Cambridge directly records glad + to-infinitive and glad about + noun/event, so the guide contrasts those documented structures rather than inferring a new complement.
English Usage
Be Good At Doing vs. Good To Do
Cambridge directly documents be good at something/doing something for being skilled or successful at an activity. Good to + infinitive can occur in other constructions and meanings, but it is not a substitute for the documented skill construction be good at + -ing.
English Usage
Be Grateful To Do vs. Grateful For Something
Cambridge directly records grateful + to-infinitive and grateful for + noun, supporting this narrow complement comparison.
English Usage
Be Gratified To Do vs. Gratified At Something
Be Gratified To Do vs. Gratified At Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “gratified.” Use gratified + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use gratified at + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The guide stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Happy To Do vs. Happy About Something
Cambridge directly records happy + to-infinitive and happy about + noun/event, providing an evidence-safe replacement for an unsupported unwilling + gerund contrast.
English Usage
Be Hesitant To Do vs. Hesitant About Something
Cambridge directly records hesitant + to-infinitive and hesitant about + noun/activity.
English Usage
Be Honored To Do vs. Honored For Something
Be Honored To Do vs. Honored For Something distinguishes two attested complement patterns for the same adjective. Use honored/honoured + to-infinitive for the adjective followed by its documented complement pattern; use honored/honoured for + noun phrase for the separately documented construction. The constructions are not interchangeable simply because they share the adjective; choose the pattern that matches the grammatical relationship you mean.
English Usage
Be Horrified To Do vs. Horrified At Something
Be Horrified To Do vs. Horrified At Something distinguishes two attested complement patterns for the same adjective. Use horrified + to-infinitive for the adjective followed by its documented complement pattern; use horrified at + noun phrase for the separately documented construction. The constructions are not interchangeable simply because they share the adjective; choose the pattern that matches the grammatical relationship you mean.
English Usage
Be Impressed To Do vs. Impressed By Something
Be Impressed To Do vs. Impressed By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “impressed.” Use impressed + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use impressed by/at/with + complement for the separately documented prepositional construction. The guide stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Inclined To Do vs. Inclined To Something
Cambridge directly documents inclined to do and a literary inclined to something pattern. The guide uses those attested constructions instead of the preliminary, insufficiently supported toward-doing wording.
English Usage
Be Intent On Doing vs. An Intent To Do
Cambridge directly distinguishes the adjective construction be intent on something/doing something from the noun construction intent to do something, so the page keeps category and complement structure explicit.
English Usage
Be Interested In Doing vs. Be Interested To Do
Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary records interested in + -ing for wanting or considering an activity and also interested + to-infinitive in uses such as being interested to find something out. The choice is therefore meaning-sensitive rather than a simple right-versus-wrong contrast.
English Usage
Be Intrigued To Do vs. Intrigued By Something
Be Intrigued To Do vs. Intrigued By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “intrigued.” Use intrigued + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use intrigued by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The guide stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Keen On Doing vs. Keen To Do
Oxford directly documents keen on doing and keen to do. Both can express eagerness; the page therefore avoids inventing a rigid meaning split that the cited dictionary does not require.
English Usage
Be Known As Something vs. Known For Something
Be Known As Something vs. Known For Something distinguishes two directly documented constructions. Known as introduces a name, title, identity, or recognized type; known for identifies the work, quality, achievement, or feature that explains why the person or thing is known.
English Usage
Be Lucky To Do vs. Lucky That Something Happened
Be Lucky To Do vs. Lucky That Something Happened distinguishes two attested complement patterns for the same adjective. Use lucky + to-infinitive for the adjective followed by its documented complement pattern; use lucky that + clause for the separately documented construction. The constructions are not interchangeable simply because they share the adjective; choose the pattern that matches the grammatical relationship you mean.
English Usage
Be Mortified To Do vs. Mortified At Something
Be Mortified To Do vs. Mortified At Something distinguishes two attested complement patterns for the same adjective. Use mortified + to-infinitive for the adjective followed by its documented complement pattern; use mortified at + noun phrase for the separately documented construction. The constructions are not interchangeable simply because they share the adjective; choose the pattern that matches the grammatical relationship you mean.
English Usage
Be Nervous About Doing vs. Nervous To Do
Cambridge directly licenses nervous about something/doing something. The guide treats that prepositional complement as the supported pattern and avoids symmetry not established by the source.
English Usage
Be Overjoyed To Do vs. Overjoyed At Something
Be Overjoyed To Do vs. Overjoyed At Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “overjoyed.” Use overjoyed + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use overjoyed at/by/about + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The guide stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Pleased To Do vs. Pleased About Something
Cambridge directly records pleased + to-infinitive and pleased about + noun/event, supporting a narrow complement comparison.
English Usage
Be Prepared To Do vs. Prepared For Something
Cambridge directly records prepared + to-infinitive and prepared for + noun/event.
English Usage
Be Privileged To Do vs. Privileged Status or Access
Be Privileged To Do vs. Privileged Status or Access distinguishes two attested complement patterns for the same adjective. Use privileged + to-infinitive for the adjective followed by its documented complement pattern; use privileged + status/access noun phrase for the separately documented construction. The constructions are not interchangeable simply because they share the adjective; choose the pattern that matches the grammatical relationship you mean.
English Usage
Be Proud To Do vs. Proud Of Something
Cambridge directly records proud + to-infinitive and proud of + noun/pronoun. The title is deliberately narrower than an unsupported proud-of-doing contrast.
English Usage
Be Qualified To Do vs. Qualified For Something
Be Qualified To Do vs. Qualified For Something compares Oxford’s directly documented qualified to + verb and qualified for + noun phrase patterns. One frames the qualification as permission or ability to perform an action; the other names the job, role, or target for which someone is qualified.
English Usage
Be Ready To Do vs. Ready For Something
Oxford directly records ready + to-infinitive and ready for + noun, supporting a narrow comparison of the two standard patterns.
English Usage
Be Reduced To Doing vs. Be Reduced To Do
Oxford directly documents reduce somebody/something to (doing) something, usually in the passive, for being forced into a worse state or action. Here to introduces the resulting state or activity; the authority does not establish an equivalent be reduced to + bare infinitive pattern.
English Usage
Be Relieved To Do vs. Relieved About Something
Oxford directly records relieved + to-infinitive and relieved about + noun/event, supporting this narrow comparison.
English Usage
Be Reluctant To Do vs. Reluctant Doing
Cambridge lists reluctant with a to-infinitive for unwillingness or hesitation. The page therefore preserves the documented infinitive construction and rejects inferred gerund symmetry.
English Usage
Be Responsible For Doing vs. Be Responsible To Do
Cambridge records be responsible for someone, something, or doing something. The for + -ing construction therefore names the action within the responsibility relation, while responsible to typically expresses accountability to a person or authority.
English Usage
Be Sad To Do vs. Sad About Something
Be Sad To Do vs. Sad About Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “sad.” Use sad + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use sad about + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Saddened To Do vs. Saddened By Something
Be Saddened To Do vs. Saddened By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “saddened.” Use saddened + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use saddened by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Scared To Do vs. Scared Of Something
Cambridge directly records scared + to-infinitive and scared of + noun/-ing, so both structures can be explained without inferring unsupported symmetry.
English Usage
Be Set On Doing vs. Set To Do
Oxford directly distinguishes be set on something/on doing something for determination from be set to do something for being likely or ready to act.
English Usage
Be Shocked To Do vs. Shocked At Something
Cambridge directly records shocked + to-infinitive and shocked at + complement, supporting this narrow complement comparison.
English Usage
Be Skilled At Doing vs. Skilled To Do
Cambridge directly documents be skilled at/in doing something for having developed ability in an activity. The preferred-source construction uses a preposition before the -ing form; do not infer skilled to + infinitive as a parallel complement solely from the adjective’s meaning.
English Usage
Be Sorry To Do vs. Sorry About Something
Cambridge directly records sorry + to-infinitive and sorry about + noun/event, supporting a comparison of the two attested complement patterns.
English Usage
Be Startled To Do vs. Startled By Something
Be Startled To Do vs. Startled By Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “startled.” Use startled + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use startled by + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Surprised To Do vs. Surprised At Something
Cambridge directly records surprised + to-infinitive and surprised at + noun/event. The title avoids claiming a gerund-specific pattern that was not directly established.
English Usage
Be Terrified To Do vs. Terrified Of Something
Be Terrified To Do vs. Terrified Of Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “terrified.” Use terrified + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use terrified of + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Thankful To Do vs. Thankful For Something
Be Thankful To Do vs. Thankful For Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “thankful.” Use thankful + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use thankful for + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Thrilled To Do vs. Thrilled About Something
Oxford directly records thrilled + to-infinitive and thrilled about + noun/event.
English Usage
Be Tired Of Doing vs. Too Tired To Do
Oxford distinguishes tired of doing, meaning that someone has had enough of an activity, from too tired + infinitive contexts, where tired describes insufficient energy or need for rest.
English Usage
Be Unhappy To Do vs. Unhappy About Something
Be Unhappy To Do vs. Unhappy About Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “unhappy.” Use unhappy + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use unhappy about + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Upset To Do vs. Upset About Something
Be Upset To Do vs. Upset About Something distinguishes two directly documented complement patterns for the adjective “upset.” Use upset + to-infinitive for the directly documented infinitival construction; use upset about + noun phrase for the separately documented prepositional construction. The page stays within those attested patterns and does not infer a broader rule from synonymy.
English Usage
Be Used To vs. Get Used To
“Be used to” describes the state of being accustomed to something. “Get used to” describes the process of becoming accustomed to it.
English Usage
Be Willing To Do vs. Willing For Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents both willing to do and willing for someone to do, providing a useful subject-sensitive complement distinction without inferred gerund symmetry.
English Usage
Be Worth Doing vs. Worth To Do
Cambridge describes be worth doing as the standard expression and explicitly rejects the to-infinitive after worth in this pattern. This rule concerns worth followed by a verb; other uses of worth with nouns or monetary values follow different structures.
English Usage
Beat vs. Beaten
“Beat” and “beaten” are different forms of the irregular verb “beat.” “Beat” is the simple past, while “beaten” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Became vs. Become
“Became” and “become” are different forms of the irregular verb “become.” “Became” is the simple past, while “become” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Beg Someone To Do vs. Beg Doing
Cambridge explicitly documents beg + object + to-infinitive for an urgent request and also records beg for + noun and other request patterns. A following -ing form may appear elsewhere in a sentence, but it is not the ordinary replacement for the documented object + to-infinitive request construction.
English Usage
Began vs. Begun
“Began” and “begun” are different forms of the irregular verb “begin.” “Began” is the simple past, while “begun” is the past participle used in perfect constructions and, where applicable, passive constructions.
English Usage
Begin Doing vs. Begin To Do
“Begin” is documented with both an -ing complement and a to-infinitive. In ordinary use they often describe the same start of an activity, so the choice is mainly contextual rather than a fixed grammar contrast.
English Usage
Beguile Someone Into Doing vs. Beguile Someone To Do
Cambridge gives direct evidence for beguile someone into doing something in the literary persuade/attract/deceive sense. The cited entry supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish beguile + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Believe In Doing vs. Believe To Do
Cambridge documents “believe in something/doing something” for confidence that a practice or action is right or effective. Believe also has other constructions, such as “believe that …” and formal object-complement patterns; this guide covers the “believe in” value/effectiveness sense.
English Usage
Benefit From Doing vs. Benefit To Do
Cambridge records benefit from for the source of an advantage, and Cambridge grammar treats a verb after a preposition as an -ing form. That supports benefit from + -ing when the beneficial source is an action.
English Usage
Benefited vs. Benefitted
“Benefited” and “benefitted” are both documented past forms of “benefit.” The difference is orthographic, not semantic, so a regional or house style should guide the choice when consistency matters.
English Usage
Bit vs. Bitten
“Bit” and “bitten” are different forms of the irregular verb “bite.” “Bit” is the simple past, while “bitten” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Blackmail Someone Into Doing vs. Blackmail Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents blackmail + object + into + -ing when a threat forces a person to perform an action. Blackmail also takes a direct object without an action complement, and the verb’s legal or everyday sense should be kept separate from the question of which complement is documented.
English Usage
Blame Someone For Doing vs. Blame Someone To Do
Cambridge records blame someone for something and examples such as not blaming someone for getting angry, supporting for + -ing when the action is what the person is blamed for.
English Usage
Blew vs. Blown
“Blew” and “blown” are different forms of the irregular verb “blow.” “Blew” is the simple past, while “blown” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Bludgeon Someone Into Doing vs. Bludgeon Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents bludgeon someone into doing something for forceful pressure or persistent argument that makes someone agree or act. The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish bludgeon + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Bluff Someone Into Doing vs. Bluff Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “bluff somebody into doing something” for making someone act by tricking them about your knowledge, experience, or intentions. The cited construction directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish bluff + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Bore vs. Borne
“Bore” is the simple past of “bear,” while “borne” is its usual past participle in senses such as carrying, supporting, or enduring. Birth expressions conventionally use “born,” so that exception remains explicit.
English Usage
Born vs. Borne
“Born” and “borne” are both related to “bear,” but modern usage separates them. “Born” is used in birth expressions, while “borne” covers other participial senses such as being carried, supported, or endured.
English Usage
Bother Doing vs. Bother To Do
Oxford documents both complement patterns for “bother” meaning spend time or energy on an action. The pair should not be turned into an absolute meaning distinction; the surrounding construction and tone do most of the work.
English Usage
Bounce Someone Into Doing vs. Bounce Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents bounce someone into doing something for UK usage for making someone decide or act before enough consideration. Cambridge labels this construction UK. The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish bounce + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Bound vs. Bounded
The choice between “bound” and “bounded” depends on which verb you mean. “Bound” is the past and past participle of “bind,” while “bounded” belongs to the separate verb “bound” in senses such as moving by leaps or forming a boundary.
English Usage
Brainwash Someone Into Doing vs. Brainwash Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents brainwash + object + into + -ing for causing belief or action through repeated messaging while blocking other information. The verb is marked disapproving, and the cited source does not present brainwash + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent documented complement.
English Usage
Bribe Someone Into Doing vs. Bribe Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents bribe + object + to-infinitive for inducing an action by giving or offering money, gifts, or another desired benefit. Bribe can also take an object alone or a with-phrase naming the inducement, so the to-infinitive pattern is not the only possible syntax for the verb.
English Usage
Broadcast vs. Broadcasted
“Broadcast” can serve as present, past, and participial form, but “broadcasted” is also recorded by Merriam-Webster. This is therefore a variant-form choice, not a rule that only one spelling can ever be correct.
English Usage
Broke vs. Broken
“Broke” and “broken” are different forms of the irregular verb “break.” “Broke” is the simple past, while “broken” is the past participle used in perfect constructions and, where applicable, passive constructions.
English Usage
Browbeat Someone Into Doing vs. Browbeat Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents browbeat + object + into + -ing for forcing or pressuring someone through threats or forceful, unfair persuasion. Browbeat can also appear transitively without an explicit action complement, so a sentence does not always need into + -ing even though that is the documented pattern for naming the forced action.
English Usage
Bulldoze Someone Into Doing vs. Bulldoze Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents bulldoze + object + into + -ing for forcing someone toward an unwanted action. The evidence supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish bulldoze + object + to-infinitive as an equal alternative.
English Usage
Bully Someone Into Doing vs. Bully Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents bully + object + into + -ing for forcing a person to act by using power, strength, or fear. Bully can also take a direct object without naming the forced action, so into + -ing is specifically the documented pattern when the action itself is expressed.
English Usage
Burned vs. Burnt
Both “burned” and “burnt” are established forms connected with “burn.” Cambridge records “burnt” as a past form and adjective and notes “burned” as a US alternative in the verb paradigm.
English Usage
Cajole Someone Into Doing vs. Cajole Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents cajole + object + into + -ing for persuading someone through pleasant talk or promises to do something they may not want to do. Cajole can also be used without the into-complement when the act of persuasion is understood, so the page distinguishes verb meaning from the syntax used to name the resulting action.
English Usage
Came vs. Come
“Came” and “come” are different forms of the irregular verb “come.” “Came” is the simple past, while “come” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Can vs. Could
Can and could overlap in ability, possibility and requests, but could is not simply a past-tense substitute in every use. Could can mark past general ability, weaker possibility, hypothetical situations, or a more tentative/polite request.
English Usage
Can't Help Doing vs. Can't Help To Do
Cambridge documents can’t/couldn’t help + -ing for being unable to control or stop an action, and also documents the separate “can’t help but + bare infinitive” pattern. Do not confuse the involuntary-action idiom with ordinary help meaning assist; the latter can take different complement patterns and expresses a different idea.
English Usage
Can't Stand Doing vs. Can't Stand To Do
Oxford documents both stand doing something and stand to do something, including paired tolerate/dislike examples such as not being able to stand hearing or to hear something. The two patterns often overlap, but idiomatic preference can vary by following verb and variety; avoid inventing a rigid universal meaning split.
English Usage
Can’t Bear Doing vs. Can’t Bear To Do
Oxford documents “bear” with both -ing and to-infinitive complements in the “cannot tolerate” sense. There can be contextual preferences, but neither pattern is categorically the only correct form.
English Usage
Care About Doing vs. Care To Do
Cambridge records care about for considering something important and care + to-infinitive in a formal WANT sense; standard preposition-complement grammar accounts for the -ing form after about. Do not reduce this pair to a right-versus-wrong rule. The choice changes meaning, and “care to do” is especially common in offers, questions, and negative statements in formal or polite usage.
English Usage
Catch Someone Doing vs. Catch Someone Do
In the relevant discover-in-the-act sense, catch takes an object followed by an -ing form. A bare infinitive after the object is not the standard parallel construction, so this is a form-choice guide rather than a meaning split between two equally productive patterns.
English Usage
Cause Someone To Do vs. Cause Someone Doing
For the verb cause followed by a person or thing that performs another action, Cambridge gives cause + object + to-infinitive. A direct object + -ing clause is not the parallel complement in this pattern.
English Usage
Cease Doing vs. Cease To Do
Oxford documents both cease + -ing and cease + to-infinitive. Cease is formal, and many expressions strongly favor one wording in actual use, so the page treats the two as licensed constructions without claiming a rigid semantic contrast that the source does not establish.
English Usage
Challenge Someone To Do vs. Challenge Doing
Cambridge documents challenge + person + to-infinitive for inviting or pressing someone to perform an action, while challenge also has separate transitive senses such as questioning a claim, rule, or decision. Keep the “invite/test a person” sense separate from the “question or dispute something” sense.
English Usage
Charge Someone With Doing vs. Charge Someone To Do
Cambridge distinguishes “charge someone with something/doing something” for accusation from charge + person + to-infinitive patterns used in other senses, such as requiring payment to do something.
English Usage
Charm Someone Into Doing vs. Charm Someone To Do
Oxford now directly documents “charm somebody into (doing) something” for using personal appeal to obtain the desired action. The current cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish “charm someone to do” as an equivalent complement pattern. This direct construction evidence was not available in the project’s earlier screening snapshot.
English Usage
Chivvy Someone Into Doing vs. Chivvy Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents chivvy someone into doing something for encouraging a person to do something they do not want to do, labeling the verb UK informal. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish chivvy + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern.
English Usage
Choose Doing vs. Choose To Do
Oxford documents “choose to do” for deciding to perform an action and also “choose between” alternatives such as staying or going. The -ing form in the latter belongs to the between-construction, not to a direct gerund complement of “choose.”
English Usage
Choose vs. Chose
“Choose” is the base/present form of the verb, while “chose” is its simple past. The past participle is “chosen,” so tense—not spelling preference—determines which form belongs in a sentence.
English Usage
Chose vs. Chosen
“Chose” and “chosen” are different forms of the irregular verb “choose.” “Chose” is the simple past, while “chosen” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Claim Doing vs. Claim To Do
Oxford documents claim + to-infinitive and claim + that-clause for assertions. “Claim” also has noun-object and entitlement senses, so an -ing form appearing as a noun-like object should not be confused with the reporting construction.
English Usage
Coax Someone Into Doing vs. Coax Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents both coax + object + into + -ing and coax + object + to-infinitive for gently persuading or encouraging someone to act. The verb can also take an object without either complement and can be used for gently moving or obtaining something; those uses do not erase the documented construction difference.
English Usage
Coerce Someone Into Doing vs. Coerce Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents coerce + object + into + -ing for forcefully persuading someone to do something they are unwilling to do. The dictionary definition paraphrases the meaning with a to-infinitive after “persuade,” but that paraphrase does not itself license coerce + object + to-infinitive as the target construction.
English Usage
Combating vs. Combatting
“Combating” and “combatting” are both documented present-participle spellings of “combat.” The choice is an inflectional spelling preference rather than a change in meaning.
English Usage
Come Close To Doing vs. Come Close To Do
Oxford directly documents come close to doing something for almost doing or reaching something. The to in come close to is prepositional before the activity; do not infer a parallel come close to + bare infinitive construction.
English Usage
Commence Doing vs. Commence To Do
Oxford explicitly lists commence doing something and commence to do something. The verb is formal, and the source does not establish a general meaning contrast between the two complements, so the guide presents both as documented alternatives.
English Usage
Commend Someone For Doing vs. Commend Someone To Do
Cambridge records commend someone for something and commend someone on something when formally praising a person.
English Usage
Committed To Doing vs. Committed To Do
Cambridge Business English explicitly records commit to doing something in the promise/commitment sense. A nearby sequence such as “committed funds to do something” has a different structure; it does not make bare “be committed to do” the direct alternative to “be committed to doing.”
English Usage
Compel Someone To Do vs. Compel Doing
Cambridge documents compel + object + to-infinitive for forcing a person to act and separate direct-object senses such as compelling a change or reaction. Compel can take noun objects in other senses, so distinguish “force a person to act” from “cause a result/reaction.”
English Usage
Complain About Doing vs. Complain To Do
Cambridge distinguishes complain about a subject from complain to a person, and standard preposition-complement grammar uses an -ing form when an action follows about. Do not confuse complain to + person with a to-infinitive. Complain can also introduce a that-clause, and a purpose infinitive may occur elsewhere in a larger sentence.
English Usage
Compliment Someone On Doing vs. Compliment Someone To Do
Cambridge gives compliment + person + on + noun phrase, including examples such as complimenting someone on how they handled or cooked something.
English Usage
Con Someone Into Doing vs. Con Someone To Do
Cambridge Business English directly gives con + object + into (doing) something for tricking a person into an action. The cited entry does not establish con + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative, so the guide preserves that evidence boundary.
English Usage
Concentrate On Doing vs. Concentrate To Do
Cambridge directly records concentrate on doing something for giving most of your attention to one activity. A separate to-infinitive may occur in a larger sentence for a different function such as purpose. This guide covers only the complement that names what someone concentrates on.
English Usage
Condemn Someone To Do vs. Condemn Someone To Something
Cambridge separately documents condemn someone to (do) something for imposing a punishment and condemn someone to something for causing someone to suffer a particular situation. The two to-patterns have different complement structures and can carry different senses. This guide does not infer condemn someone to doing as a third equivalent pattern.
English Usage
Confess To Doing vs. Confess To Do
Oxford documents confess to + noun/-ing, including confess to doing something; the to here belongs to the prepositional construction. Do not manufacture a parallel confess to + bare infinitive rule from the spelling of to; other uses of confess have their own syntax.
English Usage
Confine Yourself To Doing vs. Confine Yourself To Do
Oxford directly documents confine yourself to (doing) something for limiting the scope of an activity or subject. In this construction to is prepositional; a matching confine yourself to + bare infinitive pattern is not established by the cited authority.
English Usage
Congratulate Someone On Doing vs. Congratulate Someone To Do
Cambridge records congratulate someone on winning or on having won and similar on + -ing patterns. That evidence supports on + -ing when the action or achievement being praised is expressed as a verb.
English Usage
Consent Doing vs. Consent To Do
Oxford documents both consent to something and consent to do. That distinction explains why an -ing form can follow prepositional “to” while the direct action pattern uses the to-infinitive.
English Usage
Consider Doing vs. Consider To Do
For the common sense “think about a possibility,” consider takes an -ing verb complement: “consider moving,” not direct “consider to move.” Other constructions such as consider something to be something belong to a different syntax and should not be confused with this pattern.
English Usage
Consist Of vs. Consist In
Consist Of vs. Consist In separates the composition sense from the formal essential-quality sense documented in Cambridge.
English Usage
Continue Doing vs. Continue To Do
“Continue” is documented with both -ing and to-infinitive complements. The pair normally describes persistence of the same activity, so it should not be given the meaning split associated with verbs such as “go on.”
English Usage
Cost vs. Costed
“Cost” and “costed” can both be correct because they serve different verb senses. The ordinary price/loss sense usually stays “cost” in the past, while “costed” is standard when someone estimates or determines a cost.
English Usage
Cow Someone Into Doing vs. Cow Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents “cow someone into something/doing something” for frightening or forcing someone into an action. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish cow + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Cozen Someone Into Doing vs. Cozen Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents cozen someone into something/doing something for old-fashioned/literary deception or trickery. Cambridge labels the construction old-fashioned. The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish cozen + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Criticize Someone For Doing vs. Criticize Someone To Do
Cambridge gives “be criticized for” with -ing examples such as being criticized for failing to act, supporting for + -ing when naming the conduct under criticism.
English Usage
Dare Doing vs. Dare To Do
Cambridge distinguishes dare as an ordinary verb and as a semi-modal. These patterns use a to-infinitive or bare infinitive depending on structure; the challenge construction takes an object + to-infinitive.
English Usage
Debar Someone From Doing vs. Debar Someone To Do
Oxford documents debar + person + from + -ing, commonly in the passive, for official prevention. The same entry also supports from + noun patterns, while person + to-infinitive is not the equivalent action complement.
English Usage
Deceive Someone Into Doing vs. Deceive Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents deceive + object + into + -ing for causing a person to do or believe something through falsehood or concealment. Deceive can also take ordinary objects and clauses about what is falsely believed; those are separate from the into + -ing action pattern.
English Usage
Decide Doing vs. Decide To Do
For a decision to perform an action, standard references use “decide to do.” Gerunds occur in other constructions such as “decide against doing,” where the preposition—not “decide” alone—licenses the -ing form.
English Usage
Dedicate Yourself To Doing vs. Dedicate Yourself To Do
Oxford documents dedicate yourself to doing something for giving substantial time or effort to a purpose or activity. The construction uses prepositional to before an activity; do not replace it with a to-infinitive simply because both contain the word to.
English Usage
Delay Doing vs. Delay To Do
Oxford gives delay + -ing for an action that is put off. A to-infinitive elsewhere in the sentence can serve another purpose, but it is not the reviewed direct complement pattern.
English Usage
Delude Someone Into Doing vs. Delude Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “delude somebody/yourself into doing something” for causing a false belief that leads to an action. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish delude + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Deny Doing vs. Deny To Do
Cambridge documents deny + -ing and deny + that-clause for saying an action or claim is not true. Other deny constructions can take objects (for example denying someone something); they do not create a parallel direct to-infinitive complement.
English Usage
Depend On Doing vs. Depend To Do
Cambridge documents depend on/upon with -ing clauses and also the separate pattern “depend on someone/something to do something.” Do not overgeneralize this into a ban on every nearby to-infinitive: “depend on you to help” is valid because the infinitive belongs after the object of “on.”
English Usage
Deserve Doing vs. Deserve To Do
Oxford lists both constructions. The -ing form commonly appears in passive-like expressions such as a point deserving mention, while the to-infinitive can describe what the subject merits doing or receiving.
English Usage
Deter Someone From Doing vs. Deter Someone To Do
Cambridge defines deter with the pattern deter someone from doing something when a difficulty, threat, or expected result prevents or discourages an action.
English Usage
Devoted To Doing vs. Devoted To Do
Cambridge documents devote something/yourself to something and gives -ing complements such as devoting oneself to getting justice or resources to teaching. The “to” is part of the devote-to prepositional construction, so a following activity is expressed with an -ing clause rather than a direct to-infinitive replacement.
English Usage
Dialed vs. Dialled
Cambridge marks the verb with -ll- in UK usage and usually -l- in US usage, producing “dialled” and “dialed.” This guide treats the pair as a documented spelling or inflection convention rather than inventing a meaning difference where none is supported.
English Usage
Did vs. Done
“Did” and “done” are different forms of the irregular verb “do.” “Did” is the simple past, while “done” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Different From vs. Different To vs. Different Than
Different From vs. Different To vs. Different Than summarizes Oxford’s documented usage note: different from is the most common in both major varieties, different to is also used especially in British English, and different than is especially North American and can be convenient before a clause.
English Usage
Discourage Someone From Doing vs. Discourage Someone To Do
Cambridge records the pattern discourage someone from doing something when the meaning is to persuade someone not to do an action. Discourage can also take a noun or pronoun object without naming the action. This guide only distinguishes the direct action-complement pattern.
English Usage
Discover Someone Doing vs. Discover Someone Do
Discover can take object + -ing when someone is found engaged in an activity. A bare infinitive after that object is not the ordinary parallel pattern for this discover-in-the-act sense.
English Usage
Dislike Doing vs. Dislike To Do
Cambridge gives dislike + -ing in its dictionary examples and places dislike among verbs normally followed by -ing rather than a to-infinitive. Like, love and hate have separate reviewed patterns that can permit both forms; those patterns should not be transferred automatically to dislike.
English Usage
Disqualify Someone From Doing vs. Disqualify Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents disqualify + person + from + -ing. It also records related from + noun and for + noun patterns, but those do not establish person + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement.
English Usage
Dissuade Someone From Doing vs. Dissuade Someone To Do
Cambridge records dissuade someone from something or from doing something for persuading a person not to do an action. This guide covers the complement after dissuade. Other infinitives elsewhere in a larger sentence can have different grammatical functions.
English Usage
Distill vs. Distil
“Distill” and “distil” are regional variants of the same verb. Cambridge labels “distil” mainly UK and “distill” the usual US spelling.
English Usage
Dived vs. Dove
For “dive,” Cambridge lists past tense “dived” or US also “dove,” while the past participle is “dived.” This makes the distinction partly regional and partly grammatical.
English Usage
Dragoon Someone Into Doing vs. Dragoon Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents dragoon someone into doing something for forcing or persuading someone into an unpleasant action. The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish dragoon + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Drank vs. Drunk
“Drank” and “drunk” are different forms of the irregular verb “drink.” “Drank” is the simple past, while “drunk” is the past participle used in perfect constructions and, where applicable, passive constructions.
English Usage
Draw Someone Into Doing vs. Draw Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “draw somebody into (doing) something” for involving someone in an activity or situation. The cited construction supports into + -ing; it does not establish draw + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this sense.
English Usage
Dream Of Doing vs. Dream To Do
Cambridge explicitly contrasts “dream of doing” with the nonstandard “dream to do” for desired future actions. For dreams during sleep, Cambridge also documents “dream about” + noun or -ing; that is a different sense from aspiring to do something.
English Usage
Dreamed vs. Dreamt
“Dreamt” is a standard past form of “dream” associated with UK English, while Cambridge gives “dreamed” as the US form; usage can therefore depend on regional preference.
English Usage
Drew vs. Drawn
“Drew” and “drawn” are different forms of the irregular verb “draw.” “Drew” is the simple past, while “drawn” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Drive Someone Into Doing vs. Drive Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “drive somebody to do something” for forcing or causing someone to act in a particular way. The cited causative sense directly supports object + to-infinitive; physical drive + object + into a place is a different construction and does not license an inferred into + -ing complement here.
English Usage
Drove vs. Driven
“Drove” and “driven” are different forms of the irregular verb “drive.” “Drove” is the simple past, while “driven” is the past participle used in perfect constructions and, where applicable, passive constructions.
English Usage
Dupe Someone Into Doing vs. Dupe Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents dupe someone into doing something for deception that causes someone to do something. The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish dupe + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
During vs. While
During and while can both relate events in time, but they take different complements. During is a preposition normally followed by a noun phrase; while is a conjunction normally followed by a clause.
English Usage
Dwelled vs. Dwelt
“Dwelt” and “dwelled” are both standard past-tense and past-participle forms of “dwell”; Cambridge lists both for the same verb.
English Usage
Either vs. Neither
Either and neither normally organize choices involving two alternatives. Either presents one or the other (or appears in either…or), while neither rejects both (and appears in neither…nor); negative-sentence uses of either need separate treatment.
English Usage
Enable Someone To Do vs. Enable Doing
Enable can make a person or thing able to act, commonly with object + to-infinitive, or make an activity/result possible by taking a noun-like object. These patterns differ in whether the enabled participant or the enabled activity is expressed as the object.
English Usage
Encourage Someone To Do vs. Encourage Doing
Both patterns are standard. Encourage + person + to-infinitive names the person being persuaded or supported; encourage + -ing presents the activity itself as something promoted or made more likely.
English Usage
Enjoy Doing vs. Enjoy To Do
Enjoy takes an -ing complement when it is followed by another verb: “enjoy reading,” “enjoy meeting people.” A direct “enjoy to read” pattern is not standard in the reviewed construction.
English Usage
Enroll vs. Enrol
“Enroll” and “enrol” are regional spellings of the same verb. Cambridge labels “enroll” as the US spelling and “enrol” as the UK spelling, so the choice should follow regional or institutional style.
English Usage
Entice Someone To Do vs. Entice Someone Into Doing
Cambridge documents both entice + person + to-infinitive and entice + person + into + -ing for persuading someone by offering something attractive. Do not reduce the contrast to gerund versus infinitive alone; the preposition into is part of the -ing construction.
English Usage
Entrap Someone Into Doing vs. Entrap Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “entrap somebody into doing something” in the legal sense of tricking and encouraging someone to commit an act so they can be arrested. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing in that legal sense; it does not establish entrap + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Excuse Someone For Doing vs. Excuse Someone To Do
Cambridge records “excuse someone for something/doing something” in the forgive sense, supporting for + -ing when naming the conduct being excused.
English Usage
Exempt Someone From Doing vs. Exempt Someone To Do
Oxford documents exempt + person + from + -ing for official relief from an obligation and also supports from + noun patterns. The cited entry does not establish person + to-infinitive as the corresponding complement.
English Usage
Exhort Someone To Do vs. Exhort Doing
Cambridge explicitly documents exhort + object + to-infinitive for strongly encouraging or trying to persuade someone to act. A following -ing form may occur elsewhere in a sentence, but the cited person-plus-action construction is object + to-infinitive.
English Usage
Expect Doing vs. Expect To Do
Oxford documents “expect to do” and other object/clause patterns. The page therefore treats direct expect + -ing as a construction problem rather than inventing two equivalent complements.
English Usage
Experience In Doing vs. Experience To Do
Oxford directly documents experience in doing something for practical knowledge or skill gained from doing an activity. A following to-infinitive can occur in other noun phrases with a different relationship; it is not evidence that experience to + infinitive is a parallel complement for the documented prior-experience meaning.
English Usage
Fail Doing vs. Fail To Do
Oxford documents “fail to do” for unsuccessful or omitted actions and separately documents “fail in” patterns. Treat bare “fail doing” as different from the standard to-infinitive complement rather than as an interchangeable gerund alternative.
English Usage
Fancy Doing vs. Fancy To Do
Cambridge documents UK fancy + -ing for wanting to do something, while a separate prediction/preference sense can appear with an object followed by a to-infinitive, as in choosing who is expected to win. The to-infinitive pattern belongs to a different syntactic/meaning frame and is not a direct replacement for “fancy doing” in the want-to-do sense.
English Usage
Feel Like Doing vs. Feel Like To Do
Cambridge treats “feel like (doing) something” as the idiomatic pattern for wanting to have or do something. Here like is part of the fixed expression “feel like”; it is followed by a noun phrase or -ing form rather than a to-infinitive with the same meaning.
English Usage
Feel Someone Do vs. Feel Someone Doing
With perception feel + object, the bare infinitive and -ing form can both occur. The choice changes how the perceived event is viewed rather than simply marking one form correct and the other wrong.
English Usage
Feel Up To Doing vs. Feel Up To Do
Oxford directly documents feel up to doing something for having the strength or energy to undertake an activity. In feel up to, to is part of the prepositional expression up to; the cited pattern does not license feel up to + bare infinitive.
English Usage
Fell vs. Fallen
“Fell” and “fallen” are different forms of the irregular verb “fall.” “Fell” is the simple past, while “fallen” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Find Someone Doing vs. Find Someone Do
Find can take an object plus an -ing form to describe the state or activity discovered. The corresponding object + bare-infinitive form is not the ordinary construction for this meaning.
English Usage
Fine Someone For Doing vs. Fine Someone To Do
Cambridge gives fine + person + amount + for and passive “be fined for” when the following act is the offence that caused the monetary penalty.
English Usage
Finish Doing vs. Finish To Do
Cambridge documents finish + -ing for completing an activity. The normal direct verb complement is therefore “finish doing,” while “finish to do” is not a parallel alternative in this construction.
English Usage
Fit vs. Fitted
Cambridge lists fitted as the general past form and fit as an additional US past form; fitted also remains standard in installation senses. The guide keeps tense, participle, regional, and sense boundaries explicit rather than reducing the pair to a blanket substitution rule.
English Usage
Flew vs. Flown
“Flew” and “flown” are different forms of the irregular verb “fly.” “Flew” is the simple past, while “flown” is the past participle used in perfect constructions and, where applicable, passive constructions.
English Usage
Flounder vs. Founder
“Flounder” and “founder” are different verbs. “Flounder” commonly describes struggling, thrashing, or proceeding ineffectively; “founder” commonly describes failure or collapse and is also used when a vessel fills with water and sinks.
English Usage
Focus On Doing vs. Focus To Do
Cambridge records focus on someone or something for directing attention, and standard preposition-complement grammar puts an -ing form after a preposition when the complement is an action. A to-infinitive can still appear elsewhere to express purpose, as in a larger clause about focusing in order to achieve something; that is not the same construction as focus on doing.
English Usage
Forbid Someone From Doing vs. Forbid Someone To Do
Cambridge documents active forbid + person + to-infinitive and passive be forbidden from + -ing, while its thesaurus also recognizes forbid someone from doing. Both constructions can express prohibition, but their syntactic framing differs.
English Usage
Force Someone To Do vs. Force Someone Into Doing
Cambridge documents both force + person + to-infinitive and, in Business English, force + person + into + noun/-ing. Both express compulsion, with the into construction often presenting the person as pushed into a situation, course, or activity.
English Usage
Forecast vs. Forecasted
Both “forecast” and “forecasted” are documented as past-tense and past-participle forms of the verb “forecast.” Neither form should be treated as universally incorrect.
English Usage
Forgave vs. Forgiven
“Forgave” and “forgiven” are different forms of the irregular verb “forgive.” “Forgave” is the simple past, while “forgiven” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Forget Doing vs. Forget To Do
“Forget + -ing” concerns whether an earlier event remains in memory. “Forget + to-infinitive” means the intended action was not remembered and therefore may not have been done.
English Usage
Forgive Someone For Doing vs. Forgive Someone To Do
Cambridge gives the pattern “forgive someone for something/doing something,” supporting for + -ing when the action is what is being forgiven.
English Usage
Forgot vs. Forgotten
“Forgot” is the simple past of “forget,” while “forgotten” is the usual past participle in general edited English. Cambridge’s American Dictionary also records “forgot” as a past-participle variant, so the guide keeps that regional usage visible instead of flattening it into a universal error rule.
English Usage
Forsook vs. Forsaken
“Forsook” and “forsaken” are different forms of “forsake”: “forsook” is simple past and “forsaken” is the past participle. Cambridge marks the verb literary or formal, so the guide keeps that register boundary visible.
English Usage
Frighten Someone Into Doing vs. Frighten Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents frighten + object + into + -ing for making somebody do something by making them afraid. Frighten can also occur simply with an object or in other phrasal patterns, so the into + -ing construction is specifically for the action produced by fear.
English Usage
Froze vs. Frozen
“Froze” and “frozen” are different forms of the irregular verb “freeze.” “Froze” is the simple past, while “frozen” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Fueling vs. Fuelling
Cambridge marks the verb with -ll- in UK usage and usually -l- in US usage, so “fuelling” is the usual UK form and “fueling” the usual US form. This guide treats the pair as a documented spelling or inflection convention rather than inventing a meaning difference where none is supported.
English Usage
Fulfill vs. Fulfil
“Fulfill” and “fulfil” are regional base-form spellings of the same verb. Cambridge identifies fulfill as US and fulfil as mainly UK, while also showing doubled-l inflected forms such as fulfilled.
English Usage
Galvanize Someone Into Doing vs. Galvanize Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents both “galvanize somebody into (doing) something” and “galvanize somebody to do something” for causing decisive action. Both complements are documented, but the into construction profiles movement into an action while the to-infinitive directly presents the action prompted.
English Usage
Gave vs. Given
“Gave” and “given” are different forms of the irregular verb “give.” “Gave” is the simple past, while “given” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Gerund vs. Infinitive
Gerunds and infinitives can both follow verbs, but the allowed pattern depends on the governing verb and sometimes changes the meaning. This guide treats the choice as a verb-pattern question, not a universal substitution rule.
English Usage
Get Around To Doing vs. Get Around To Do
Cambridge documents get around to + -ing for finally finding time to do something after a delay. The phrasal construction ends in prepositional to, so the following action is expressed with -ing in the documented pattern.
English Usage
Get Down To Doing vs. Get Down To Do
Oxford directly documents get down to (doing) something for beginning serious attention to an activity. The to in get down to is prepositional in this pattern; do not infer a corresponding get down to + bare infinitive construction.
English Usage
Get Someone To Do vs. Get Someone Doing
Get + object + to-infinitive can mean persuade or cause an action, while get + object + -ing can present causing an activity or state to begin or continue. The two patterns can overlap in broad causative meaning but do not package the event the same way.
English Usage
Get Something Done vs. Get Something To Do
Get + object + past participle expresses causing or arranging for something to be done, while get + object + to-infinitive causes or enables that object/person to perform an action.
English Usage
Give Up Doing vs. Give Up To Do
Cambridge documents give up + -ing for stopping an activity, including giving up trying, going, driving, or smoking. Other senses of give up, including surrendering or relinquishing something, have different complements; they do not create a synonymous give up + to-infinitive construction.
English Usage
Go On Doing vs. Go On To Do
“Go on + -ing” continues the same activity. “Go on + to-infinitive” moves the sequence forward to a different action or later stage.
English Usage
Go Shopping vs. Go To Shop
Oxford records “go shopping” as the conventional expression for doing the shopping activity. A purpose infinitive such as to shop belongs to a different construction and should not be presented as an equivalent activity complement.
English Usage
Go Swimming vs. Go To Swim
Oxford documents go + -ing for activities such as “go swimming.” A to-infinitive can express purpose in a larger sentence, but it should not be treated as an interchangeable replacement for the established go + activity pattern.
English Usage
Goad Someone Into Doing vs. Goad Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents goad + object + into + noun/-ing for provoking someone into an action by repeated annoyance or pressure. Other goad patterns exist, including “goad someone on”; this guide is limited to the complement used to name the resulting action.
English Usage
Got vs. Gotten
Cambridge lists got as the past tense; the past participle is got, with gotten usual in many US uses. The guide keeps tense, participle, regional, and sense boundaries explicit rather than reducing the pair to a blanket substitution rule.
English Usage
Grew vs. Grown
“Grew” and “grown” are different forms of the irregular verb “grow.” “Grew” is the simple past, while “grown” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Guilt Someone Into Doing vs. Guilt Someone To Do
Collins American English documents guilt as a verb for influencing behavior by arousing guilt and illustrates guilt + object + into + -ing. The cited evidence supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish guilt + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative.
English Usage
Happen Doing vs. Happen To Do
Oxford documents “happen to be/do” for chance occurrence. The ordinary event sense of “happen” is structurally different, so bare “happen doing” should not be treated as an interchangeable gerund option.
English Usage
Hate Doing vs. Hate To Do
“Hate” can be followed by either -ing or a to-infinitive, and the difference is usually one of emphasis. The -ing form commonly foregrounds the experience; the to-infinitive can foreground the result or reluctant action.
English Usage
Have Difficulty Doing vs. Have Difficulty To Do
Cambridge directly documents have difficulty doing something and the variant have difficulty in doing something. The cited construction does not license have difficulty to + infinitive as the parallel complement pattern; keep the documented -ing construction.
English Usage
Have Problems Doing vs. Have Problems To Do
Cambridge Grammar Today states that when problem is followed by a verb, the verb is in the -ing form, and gives have problems doing something rather than have problems to do something. This guidance concerns problem meaning difficulty with an activity; a noun phrase such as problems to solve has different syntax and should not be collapsed into this complement choice.
English Usage
Have Someone Do vs. Have Someone To Do
When have means arrange for or cause a person to do something, Cambridge documents have + object + bare infinitive. A following to-infinitive can occur in other have constructions, but it is not the ordinary causative complement after the person object.
English Usage
Have Trouble Doing vs. Have Trouble To Do
Cambridge grammar directly documents have trouble doing something alongside have difficulty doing something. The cited pattern licenses the -ing complement for this meaning; do not infer have trouble to + infinitive as an interchangeable complement.
English Usage
Hear Someone Do vs. Hear Someone Doing
After hear + object, both the bare infinitive and the -ing form are standard. The bare infinitive usually presents the perceived event as a whole or completed, while -ing usually presents it as in progress, incomplete, or repeated.
English Usage
Help Do vs. Help To Do
Cambridge documents both forms: “help someone do” and “help someone to do,” as well as help followed by an infinitive without an object. The presence of “to” is optional in this construction rather than a change of core meaning.
English Usage
Help Someone Do vs. Help Someone To Do
When help means make an action easier, standard English allows help + person + bare infinitive and help + person + to-infinitive. The two infinitive patterns are alternatives here; a direct -ing complement is not the corresponding pattern.
English Usage
Hesitate Doing vs. Hesitate To Do
Oxford distinguishes hesitate + to-infinitive from hesitate about/over + -ing. The gerund is licensed by the preposition, so the two patterns should not be collapsed into a bare gerund-versus-infinitive choice.
English Usage
Hid vs. Hidden
“Hid” and “hidden” are different forms of the irregular verb “hide.” “Hid” is the simple past, while “hidden” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Hinder Someone From Doing vs. Hinder Someone To Do
For an action that is obstructed, standard patterns include hinder + person + from + -ing (and, in some varieties or contexts, hinder + person + in + -ing). “Hinder someone to do” is not the usual corresponding complement.
English Usage
Hoodwink Someone Into Doing vs. Hoodwink Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents “hoodwink someone into doing something” for tricking someone into an action. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish hoodwink + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Hope Doing vs. Hope To Do
“Hope” takes a to-infinitive when it directly introduces a following action, and it also supports clause patterns. A bare gerund after “hope” is not the like-for-like alternative that a simple gerund-versus-infinitive label might suggest.
English Usage
Hung vs. Hanged
Hung is the usual past form of hang in most senses; hanged is used especially for execution by hanging. The guide keeps tense, participle, regional, and sense boundaries explicit rather than reducing the pair to a blanket substitution rule.
English Usage
Hurry Someone Into Doing vs. Hurry Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents hurry someone into something/doing something for making a person decide or act before they have enough time to consider it. The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish hurry + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Hustle Someone Into Doing vs. Hustle Someone To Do
Collins documents a transitive pressure/coercion sense of hustle and illustrates it with a person being hustled into buying more. The cited dictionary evidence supports the into + -ing action pattern but does not establish hustle + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative in this sense.
English Usage
Imagine Doing vs. Imagine To Do
Cambridge documents imagine + -ing and imagine + clauses when forming a mental picture or considering a situation. Passive constructions such as “is imagined to be” are structurally different and do not make active “imagine to do” an interchangeable complement.
English Usage
Imagine Someone Doing vs. Imagine Someone To Do
Imagine readily licenses a new subject before an -ing form. Oxford also records object + to-infinitive uses, but that pattern is more restricted and formal; avoid treating any arbitrary “imagine someone to do” sentence as a direct substitute for the -ing form.
English Usage
Impel Someone Into Doing vs. Impel Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents “impel someone to do something” for causing someone to feel that an action is necessary. The cited entry directly supports object + to-infinitive; it does not establish impel + object + into + -ing as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Incite Someone To Do vs. Incite Doing
Cambridge documents incite + object + to-infinitive for encouraging a person to do something unpleasant or violent, and incite + object + to + noun for related targets. The verb is semantically restricted toward encouraging unpleasant, violent, or otherwise problematic action; do not generalize it to neutral encouragement.
English Usage
Induce Someone To Do vs. Induce Doing
Cambridge marks the persuasion sense of induce as transitive with an object plus to-infinitive. Induce also has a separate cause sense with ordinary noun objects, so not every use of induce contains a person plus infinitive.
English Usage
Inhibit Someone From Doing vs. Inhibit Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents inhibit + person + from + -ing for preventing an action, especially through nervousness or embarrassment. Other process-oriented uses exist, but person + to-infinitive is not established as the parallel complement.
English Usage
Insist On Doing vs. Insist To Do
Cambridge records “insist on something/doing something” for demanding or continuing an action. “Insist to do” is not the parallel direct-complement pattern. Other valid insist patterns include “insist that …” and “insist on” followed by a noun phrase; this guide is only about the direct action complement.
English Usage
Inspire Someone To Do vs. Inspire Doing
Cambridge documents inspire + person + to-infinitive and separate direct-object senses such as inspiring confidence, loyalty, or ideas. If -ing material follows inspire, check whether it is functioning as a noun-like object or belongs to another clause rather than treating it as a direct alternative to object + to-infinitive.
English Usage
Instruct Someone To Do vs. Instruct Someone In Doing
Instruct + person + to-infinitive gives a formal direction or order. In the teaching sense, instruct can instead take in/on + a subject or activity; the prepositional phrase names what the person is trained in rather than functioning as the same command complement.
English Usage
Intend Doing vs. Intend To Do
Both patterns can express a plan, but they are not equally neutral across varieties. Oxford marks “intend doing” as British English while giving “intend to do” without that regional restriction.
English Usage
Intimidate Someone Into Doing vs. Intimidate Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents intimidate + object + into + -ing for persuading someone to act through fear or threats. Intimidate also works transitively without an explicit action complement, so a sentence can name the target of intimidation without specifying the resulting action.
English Usage
Inveigle Someone Into Doing vs. Inveigle Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents the formal construction inveigle + object + into + -ing for clever and usually dishonest persuasion. The cited source does not license inveigle + object + to-infinitive as a parallel documented construction, so the comparison keeps that asymmetry explicit.
English Usage
Invite Someone To Do vs. Invite Doing
Invite + person + to-infinitive is the standard pattern for asking or formally requesting someone to act. Invite also takes ordinary noun objects in other senses, including things whose occurrence is encouraged; those object uses are not interchangeable with the person + to-infinitive request pattern.
English Usage
Involve Doing vs. Involve To Do
Cambridge documents involve + -ing, such as an operation involving an action, and also involve someone in doing something. The pattern “involve someone in doing” uses the preposition in; it does not create a direct involve + to-infinitive alternative.
English Usage
It Is No Good Doing vs. It Is No Good To Do
Cambridge grammar directly lists it’s no good + -ing and illustrates the construction with an activity complement. The cited idiom licenses the -ing form; do not infer it is no good to + infinitive as an interchangeable form of the same construction from meaning alone.
English Usage
It Is No Use Doing vs. It Is No Use To Do
Cambridge directly documents it is no use (doing something), also there is no use (doing something), for an attempt or action that will not succeed or help. The cited idiom licenses the -ing form inside this expression; do not infer an interchangeable it is no use to + infinitive pattern from general infinitive usage elsewhere.
English Usage
Jockey Someone Into Doing vs. Jockey Someone To Do
Cambridge documents jockey + object + into + -ing for persuading or manoeuvring someone into an action, often through clever pressure. This is a specific into-construction; the cited evidence does not establish jockey + object + to-infinitive as a symmetric alternative.
English Usage
Jolly Someone Into Doing vs. Jolly Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents jolly someone into doing something for gently persuading someone by putting them in a good mood, labeling the verb mainly UK informal or US old-fashioned. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; its definition paraphrases the meaning with “encourage someone to do” but does not thereby establish jolly + object + to-infinitive as the same construction.
English Usage
Keep Doing vs. Keep To Do
Cambridge documents keep + -ing for continuing or repeatedly doing something. “Keep to” exists in separate prepositional/phrasal uses such as staying with a rule, route, or subject; that to is not an infinitive marker and does not make “keep to do” an equivalent complement.
English Usage
Keep Someone Doing vs. Keep Someone To Do
Keep + person + -ing describes causing or allowing an activity to continue. Keep + person + to-infinitive is not the corresponding ordinary continuation pattern.
English Usage
Keep Someone From Doing vs. Keep Someone To Do
Cambridge documents keep + person/thing + from + -ing for prevention. “Keep someone to do” is not the parallel prevention pattern and needs a different structure or meaning.
English Usage
Kidnaped vs. Kidnapped
“Kidnapped” is the broadly standard past form of “kidnap,” while Cambridge also documents a single-p American inflection. The difference is spelling rather than meaning, so consistency and house style matter.
English Usage
Kneeled vs. Knelt
“Knelt” and “kneeled” are both standard past-tense and past-participle forms of “kneel”; Cambridge explicitly lists both forms.
English Usage
Knew vs. Known
“Knew” and “known” are different forms of the irregular verb “know.” “Knew” is the simple past, while “known” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Knit vs. Knitted
Cambridge records both “knitted” and “knit” as past-tense and past-participle forms. The difference is therefore a standard variant choice rather than a correct-versus-incorrect distinction.
English Usage
Labeled vs. Labelled
“Labeled” and “labelled” are regional spellings of the same past-tense/past-participle and adjective forms of “label”; Cambridge explicitly marks the US/UK distinction.
English Usage
Labeling vs. Labelling
“Labeling” and “labelling” are regional spellings of the same -ing form. Cambridge marks “labelling” as UK usage and “labeling” as the US form.
English Usage
Lead vs. Led
Lead is the base/present form of the verb meaning guide or be in front, pronounced /liːd/ in that use. Led is its past tense and past participle, pronounced /led/. The spelling lead is also a noun for the metal pronounced /led/, which creates a separate homograph trap.
English Usage
Leaped vs. Leapt
“Leaped” and “leapt” are both standard past-tense and past-participle forms of “leap”; Cambridge lists both without making one universally incorrect.
English Usage
Learn Doing vs. Learn To Do
Oxford distinguishes learning a skill or action with a to-infinitive from learning through experience with “learn from doing.” The two constructions answer different questions and should not be collapsed into a direct gerund-versus-infinitive swap.
English Usage
Learned vs. Learnt
For the past tense and past participle of “learn,” Cambridge gives “learned” generally and “learnt” as an additional UK form; “learned” also has a separate adjective pronounced in two syllables.
English Usage
Leave Someone Doing vs. Leave Someone To Do
Leave + object + -ing and leave + object + to-infinitive are both documented patterns, but they package different relationships between leave, the person, and the following action.
English Usage
Let Someone Do vs. Let Someone To Do
For permission or causation with let, standard English uses let + person + bare infinitive. Cambridge explicitly contrasts this with the nonstandard pattern let + person + to-infinitive.
English Usage
Leveled vs. Levelled
“Leveled” and “levelled” are regional spellings of the same past form. Cambridge distinguishes US “leveled” from mainly UK “levelled,” so the choice is regional rather than semantic.
English Usage
License vs. Licence
In US English, “license” is normally used for both the noun and the verb. In UK English, “licence” is the usual noun spelling, while “license” is a standard verb spelling. Cambridge also records “licence” as a UK verb variant, so a guide should explain the noun–verb convention without claiming every other recorded form is impossible.
English Usage
Lighted vs. Lit
“Lit” and “lighted” are both standard verb forms of “light”. Cambridge also lists “lighted” as an adjective before a noun, such as a lighted candle.
English Usage
Like Doing vs. Like To Do
After “like,” both -ing and to-infinitive constructions are standard and often close in meaning. The usual distinction is one of emphasis, not a strict one-form-only grammar rule.
English Usage
Little vs. A Little
Little and a little both quantify uncountable nouns, but they differ in viewpoint. Little often means not much or almost none, whereas a little means some, usually enough to present a small amount positively or neutrally.
English Usage
Look Forward To Doing vs. Look Forward To Do
Cambridge explicitly identifies the “to” in look forward to as a preposition and documents noun or -ing complements. The sequence “to do” is not the normal complement of look forward to because the construction does not contain infinitival to.
English Usage
Love Doing vs. Love To Do
“Love” accepts both -ing and to-infinitive complements. Cambridge describes only a small meaning difference and notes that the -ing form is more common after love in the general pattern it discusses.
English Usage
Lull Someone Into Doing vs. Lull Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “lull somebody into doing something” for causing someone to feel safe enough to stop being careful. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish lull + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Lure Someone Into Doing vs. Lure Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents lure + object + into + noun/-ing for persuading someone toward an action by offering something attractive. Cambridge separately documents lure + object + to + place/thing for destination or attraction, so a following “to” does not by itself establish a to-infinitive construction.
English Usage
Make a Point of Doing vs. Make a Point To Do
Cambridge directly documents make a point of doing something for deliberately ensuring that an action is done. The cited construction uses the preposition of before the -ing form; do not infer make a point to + infinitive as a parallel complement merely from meaning. Other point/to-infinitive structures can have different syntax.
English Usage
Make Someone Do vs. Make Someone To Do
In the active causative pattern meaning force or cause, make takes an object plus the bare infinitive. The to-infinitive appears in the corresponding passive: someone is made to do something.
English Usage
Make vs. Makes
“Make” and “makes” are present-tense forms of the same verb. In ordinary present-simple clauses, “makes” agrees with third-person singular subjects, while “make” is used with other persons/numbers and after auxiliaries that select the base form.
English Usage
Manage Doing vs. Manage To Do
In the success sense, “manage” takes a to-infinitive: “manage to do.” The verb also has a different transitive sense meaning to control, organize or cope with something, which should not be confused with a gerund alternative.
English Usage
Maneuver Someone Into Doing vs. Maneuver Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents maneuver someone into doing something for US-spelling construction for skillfully or indirectly causing someone to act. “Maneuver” is the US spelling; the construction should not be generalized into a separate complement rule for the UK spelling without checking its entry. The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish maneuver + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Manipulate Someone Into Doing vs. Manipulate Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents manipulate + object + into + -ing for controlling or influencing someone, often dishonestly, so that they take an action. Manipulate has other senses, including handling objects or data, and it can take an object without an into-complement; those uses should not be folded into this action-pattern comparison.
English Usage
May vs. Might
May and might both express possibility and often overlap. Might can sound more tentative in many contexts, but a rigid certainty percentage is unreliable; tense, reported speech and speaker stance can also affect the choice.
English Usage
Mean Doing vs. Mean To Do
With “mean + -ing,” the -ing action is a consequence or implication. With “mean + to-infinitive,” “mean” expresses intention.
English Usage
Mention Doing vs. Mention To Do
Cambridge documents mention + -ing and mention + that-clause among its ordinary complementation patterns. “Mention something to someone” contains prepositional to before a recipient; that separate pattern should not be confused with a to-infinitive complement.
English Usage
Mind Doing vs. Mind To Do
Cambridge says mind is usually followed by a verb in the -ing form and explicitly contrasts this with “mind to do.” Infinitives may appear elsewhere in the sentence for another grammatical role, but they are not the direct complement pattern after mind.
English Usage
Miss Doing vs. Miss To Do
Cambridge documents miss + -ing in senses such as regretting an absent activity and narrowly avoiding something happening. Do not confuse this complement pattern with miss + noun (“miss the bus”) or with an infinitive elsewhere expressing purpose or result.
English Usage
Mistook vs. Mistaken
Use “mistook” for the simple past of the verb “mistake” and “mistaken” as its past participle, especially after have/has/had. The guide preserves documented regional or alternate forms rather than treating the pair as an absolute binary.
English Usage
Modeling vs. Modelling
“Modeling” and “modelling” are regional spellings of the same word family. Cambridge labels “modelling” UK and “modeling” the usual US form.
English Usage
Motivate Someone To Do vs. Motivate Doing
Cambridge documents motivate + person + to-infinitive for making someone eager to act; it also documents other transitive and passive motivation patterns rather than a parallel bare -ing complement. A gerund phrase can behave as a noun in broader syntax, but that does not create the same participant structure as motivate + person + to-infinitive.
English Usage
Move Someone Into Doing vs. Move Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents formal “move somebody to do something” for causing someone to act or feel strongly enough to act. The cited causative sense directly supports object + to-infinitive; it does not establish move + object + into + -ing as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Mowed vs. Mown
The forms are not fully interchangeable: Cambridge gives “mowed” for the simple past and allows “mown” or “mowed” for the past participle. The grammatical slot therefore matters.
English Usage
Much vs. Many
Much and many both express quantity, but they select different noun types. Much normally modifies singular uncountable nouns, while many modifies plural countable nouns; register also affects how often much appears in affirmative clauses.
English Usage
Must vs. Have To
Must and have to can both express obligation, but their typical sources and negative forms differ. Must often presents an obligation from the speaker or rule; have to commonly points to external necessity, while mustn’t means prohibition and don’t have to means lack of necessity.
English Usage
Nag Someone Into Doing vs. Nag Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents nag + object + to-infinitive for repeatedly criticizing or urging someone in order to make them do something. Cambridge separately documents nag someone about something/doing something, which names the subject of repeated criticism rather than the same complement structure as object + to-infinitive.
English Usage
Need Doing vs. Need To Be Done
“Needs doing” and “needs to be done” can both say that an action is necessary for the subject. The second makes the passive form explicit.
English Usage
Need Doing vs. Need To Do
Need + to-infinitive normally identifies an action the subject is required to perform. Need + -ing can instead give the thing needing attention a passive interpretation, so the two constructions are not interchangeable.
English Usage
Neglect Doing vs. Neglect To Do
Oxford documents “neglect to do” for failing or forgetting an expected action and separately uses “neglect” transitively with noun objects. That supports one-sided complement guidance rather than a manufactured gerund contrast.
English Usage
Notice Someone Do vs. Notice Someone Doing
After notice + object, both the bare infinitive and the -ing form are standard. The bare infinitive usually presents the perceived event as a whole or completed, while -ing usually presents it as in progress, incomplete, or repeated.
English Usage
Nudge Someone Into Doing vs. Nudge Someone To Do
Collins directly documents both nudge someone into doing something for gentle persuasion and object + to-infinitive use such as nudging clients to travel farther. Both constructions are attested in the cited entry; into + -ing foregrounds persuasion into an action, while the to-infinitive pattern can present the encouraged action directly.
English Usage
Object To Doing vs. Object To Do
Cambridge records object to someone/something as the opposition construction, and its preposition guidance allows an -ing clause as the complement of a preposition. Do not treat “object to do” as the infinitive alternative to this meaning. A separate noun such as “object” can occur before a to-infinitive in unrelated structures, but that is not the verb object-to construction.
English Usage
Observe Someone Do vs. Observe Someone Doing
Observe can take object + bare infinitive or object + -ing in perception/reporting contexts. The contrast commonly tracks whole-event versus ongoing-event perspective, while passive syntax can introduce a to-infinitive.
English Usage
Offer Doing vs. Offer To Do
For the sense “volunteer to perform an action,” Oxford documents offer + to-infinitive. The verb also accepts ordinary objects, so an -ing form can be noun-like in some contexts without creating a balanced gerund-versus-infinitive choice.
English Usage
Opposed To Doing vs. Opposed To Do
Cambridge defines be opposed to something and includes an -ing example in the disagreement sense. Do not treat “opposed to do” as the infinitive alternative to be opposed to doing; other uses of oppose have different syntax.
English Usage
Order Someone To Do vs. Order Doing
When order means give an authoritative instruction, Cambridge documents order + person + to-infinitive and passive order + to-infinitive. Bare order + -ing is not the ordinary person-command equivalent and may instead belong to another sense or require a different structure.
English Usage
Overcame vs. Overcome
Use “overcame” for the simple past of “overcome” and “overcome” as the past participle, especially after have/has/had. The guide distinguishes the finite past form from the participle in standard verb constructions.
English Usage
Overhear Someone Do vs. Overhear Someone Doing
Overhear belongs to the perception-verb group that can take object + bare infinitive or object + -ing. The two forms differ mainly in event viewpoint, not in basic grammatical acceptability.
English Usage
Own Up To Doing vs. Own Up To Do
Oxford documents own up to something/to doing something for admitting responsibility or admitting that one did something. The to in own up to introduces the admitted matter and supports an -ing complement; it is not evidence for a parallel to-infinitive pattern.
English Usage
Paid vs. Payed
“Paid” is the ordinary past tense and past participle of “pay.” “Payed” is a real but specialized form used in limited senses such as certain nautical or rope-related uses.
English Usage
Panic Someone Into Doing vs. Panic Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “panic somebody into doing something,” usually in the passive, for causing somebody to act too quickly because of fear. The cited entry supports into + -ing and marks the construction as usually passive; it does not establish “panic someone to do” as an equivalent pattern.
English Usage
Participate In Doing vs. Participate To Do
Cambridge uses participate in for the activity or event joined, and Cambridge grammar treats a verb after a preposition as an -ing form. Together these support participate in + -ing when the activity itself is verbal.
English Usage
Passed vs. Past
Passed is the past tense and past participle of the verb pass. Past is usually a preposition, adverb, adjective, or noun referring to an earlier time or a position beyond a point. The forms overlap in sound for many speakers but have different grammatical jobs.
English Usage
Past Simple vs. Past Continuous
The past simple commonly presents a past event as completed or bounded, while the past continuous presents an event or temporary situation as in progress around a past time. The difference is often one of viewpoint, and the two forms frequently work together in the same narrative.
English Usage
Past Tense of Buy
The simple past of “buy” is “bought,” and the past participle is also “bought.” The standard principal forms are buy, bought, bought.
English Usage
Past Tense of Cast
The principal forms are cast, cast, cast: the verb keeps the same form in the present base, simple past, and past participle.
English Usage
Past Tense of Cut
“Cut” is an invariant irregular verb: the base form, past simple, and past participle are all “cut.”
English Usage
Past Tense of Feed
“Feed” is an irregular verb. Its simple past and past participle are both “fed,” so the same form works in “I fed them yesterday” and “I have fed them already.”
English Usage
Past Tense of Grind
For the ordinary verb “grind,” the standard simple past and past participle are both “ground.” The principal forms are grind, ground, ground.
English Usage
Past Tense of Hear
“Hear” is irregular: hear → heard → heard. Forms such as “heared” are not the standard simple past or past participle.
English Usage
Past Tense of Keep
“Keep” is an irregular verb: the simple past is “kept,” and the past participle is also “kept.” Use the same form in ordinary past clauses and after auxiliaries where a participle is required; “keeped” is not the standard inflected form.
English Usage
Past Tense of Make
The past tense of “make” is “made,” and “made” is also its past participle. Use it for both simple-past and perfect constructions.
English Usage
Past Tense of Spend
The past tense of “spend” is “spent,” and “spent” is also its past participle. The same irregular form is used for money, time, effort, and related senses.
English Usage
Past Tense of Stand
The past tense of “stand” is “stood,” and “stood” is also the past participle. This irregular form applies across the ordinary verb senses of being upright or being in a position or state.
English Usage
Past Tense of Stick
The past tense of “stick” is “stuck,” and the past participle is also “stuck.” The verb is irregular, so standard usage does not form the past as “sticked.”
English Usage
Past Tense of Tell
“Tell” is irregular: its simple past and past participle are both “told.” The standard principal forms are tell, told, told.
English Usage
Past Tense of Wind
The past form depends on which verb “wind” you mean. The /waɪnd/ verb meaning turn, twist, or follow a curving course is irregular: wind → wound → wound. The /wɪnd/ verb meaning make someone short of breath uses “winded.”
English Usage
Penalize Someone For Doing vs. Penalize Someone To Do
Cambridge records “be penalized for” and penalize someone for something when the following act or condition is the reason for punishment or disadvantage.
English Usage
Permit Doing vs. Permit Someone To Do
Cambridge documents both “permit + -ing” and “permit + object + to-infinitive.” The first foregrounds the permitted activity; the second identifies the person or thing permitted to perform it.
English Usage
Persist In Doing vs. Persist To Do
Cambridge records persist in + -ing for continuing an action despite difficulty or opposition. The preposition in governs the following -ing form in this construction, so “persist to do” should not be substituted as its direct parallel.
English Usage
Persuade Someone To Do vs. Persuade Someone Into Doing
Cambridge documents both persuade + person + to-infinitive and persuade + person + into + noun/-ing. Both can describe causing someone to act through persuasion, while the into construction often foregrounds being brought into a course of action.
English Usage
Plan Doing vs. Plan To Do
For an intended action, “plan to do” is standard. “Plan on doing” is also documented, with the gerund licensed by the preposition “on,” so it should not be simplified into a bare plan-doing versus plan-to-do choice.
English Usage
Pleaded vs. Pled
Cambridge lists pleaded, with pled also used in US English, for both past tense and past participle. The guide keeps tense, participle, regional, and sense boundaries explicit rather than reducing the pair to a blanket substitution rule.
English Usage
Postpone Doing vs. Postpone To Do
Oxford documents postpone + -ing for delaying an action until a later time. Use the -ing form for the postponed action; a direct “postpone to do” construction is not supported as the equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Practice Doing vs. Practice To Do
Cambridge documents practise + -ing for repeated training, while its general verb-pattern guidance places practise in the -ing-not-to-infinitive group. The separate Practice vs. Practise guide owns the regional spelling distinction; this page is only about the verb-complement pattern.
English Usage
Practice vs. Practise
In standard UK usage, “practice” is the noun and “practise” is the verb; in US English, “practice” is generally used for both noun and verb. This distinction combines region and grammatical role, so check both the variety of English and whether the word is functioning as a noun or verb.
English Usage
Praise Someone For Doing vs. Praise Someone To Do
Cambridge records “praise someone for something/doing something,” supporting for + -ing when the following action is the achievement or conduct being praised.
English Usage
Precede vs. Proceed
“Precede” means to come before something in time or space. “Proceed” means to continue, carry on, or move forward. Their similar spelling hides a clear meaning difference.
English Usage
Preclude Someone From Doing vs. Preclude Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents preclude + person + from + -ing as the action-prevention construction. Preclude also occurs with noun phrases and possibility expressions, but the cited evidence does not support person + to-infinitive as an equivalent.
English Usage
Prefer Doing vs. Prefer To Do
“Prefer” can take either an -ing form or a to-infinitive, and the difference is often small. Cambridge notes an emphasis tendency rather than an absolute rule, with the to-infinitive more common overall.
English Usage
Prepare Doing vs. Prepare To Do
Oxford documents prepare + to-infinitive for getting ready to act and prepare for + noun for getting ready for an event or situation. An -ing activity can follow the preposition “for,” which is a different construction from bare prepare + -ing.
English Usage
Prescribe vs. Proscribe
“Prescribe” and “proscribe” are near-lookalikes with almost opposite practical effects. “Prescribe” can order treatment or lay down a rule; “proscribe” formally forbids or bans.
English Usage
Present Perfect vs. Past Simple
Use the past simple for completed events located at a definite past time. Use the present perfect when a past event is connected to the present or the time period extends up to now. American English sometimes uses the past simple where British English prefers the present perfect.
English Usage
Present Perfect vs. Present Perfect Continuous
Present perfect simple often emphasizes a completed result or achievement, while present perfect continuous often emphasizes an activity, its duration, or continuation up to the present. The contrast is not absolute: some situations permit both, and many state or single-point verbs are poor fits for the continuous form.
English Usage
Present Simple vs. Present Continuous
Use the present simple mainly for general facts, repeated situations, and relatively permanent states; use the present continuous for activity in progress around now and many temporary situations. Some state verbs normally resist continuous forms.
English Usage
Press Someone Into Doing vs. Press Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents press + object + to-infinitive when someone tries hard to persuade another person to act. The cited entry directly supports the to-infinitive construction; it does not establish press + object + into + -ing as an equally documented parallel in this sense.
English Usage
Press-gang Someone Into Doing vs. Press-gang Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “press-gang somebody into something/into doing something” for forcing somebody to do something unwanted. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish “press-gang someone to do” as an equivalent complement.
English Usage
Pressure Someone Into Doing vs. Pressure Someone To Do
Oxford documents both pressure + object + into + -ing and pressure + object + to-infinitive for persuading someone strongly, often against their preference. The verb use is especially associated with North American English; British English also uses pressurize in this sense, and noun constructions such as “put pressure on someone to do…” are separate.
English Usage
Pressurize Someone Into Doing vs. Pressurize Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents both “pressurize somebody into (doing) something” and “pressurize somebody to do something” for applying pressure to persuade. Both complements are directly documented in the cited British-English entry, so this guide can compare them without inventing symmetry.
English Usage
Pretend Doing vs. Pretend To Do
Oxford documents “pretend to do” and “pretend that …” for behaving as if something is true. A gerund can occur elsewhere in a sentence, but it should not be presented as an interchangeable direct complement after “pretend.”
English Usage
Prevent Someone From Doing vs. Prevent Someone To Do
Cambridge grammar states that prevent is not followed by a to-infinitive in this pattern; the action is expressed with from + -ing, and Cambridge also records object + -ing without from in some usage. This guide is about the complement after prevent. It does not rule out a to-infinitive elsewhere in a larger sentence when that infinitive has a different grammatical role.
English Usage
Prod Someone Into Doing vs. Prod Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents prod + object + into + -ing for repeatedly encouraging or reminding someone until the action happens. The cited entry does not establish prod + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative, so this guide does not infer symmetry between the two forms.
English Usage
Programed vs. Programmed
“Programmed” and “programed” are both recorded inflections of “program.” Cambridge displays the double-m form, while Collins also lists the single-m variant, so this is a spelling-choice issue rather than a difference in meaning.
English Usage
Prohibit Someone From Doing vs. Prohibit Someone To Do
Cambridge records prohibit + person + from + -ing for preventing an action and also allows prohibit + noun/-ing when the prohibited activity itself is the object. The to-infinitive is not the parallel complement for this sense.
English Usage
Promise Doing vs. Promise To Do
“Promise to do” is the standard pattern for committing to perform an action. The verb also occurs with noun objects and clauses, so those alternatives should be distinguished from a supposed direct gerund complement.
English Usage
Prompt Someone To Do vs. Prompt Doing
Cambridge documents prompt + person + to-infinitive for causing someone to decide to say or do something and also allows ordinary noun objects such as a response or speculation. A gerund phrase can sometimes function as a noun-like object, but its participant structure is not automatically equivalent to object + to-infinitive.
English Usage
Propose Doing vs. Propose To Do
Oxford documents “propose doing” under the suggestion sense and “propose to do” under the formal intention sense, while also recording an -ing pattern in the intention entry. Use context to identify whether the speaker is putting forward a plan or stating an intended action.
English Usage
Proved vs. Proven
Prove has past tense proved; past participles proved and proven are both documented, with proven also established as an adjective. The guide keeps tense, participle, regional, and sense boundaries explicit rather than reducing the pair to a blanket substitution rule.
English Usage
Provoke Someone Into Doing vs. Provoke Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents both “provoke somebody into (doing) something” and “provoke somebody to do something” in the reaction-causing sense. Both complements are directly documented, but that does not make every sentence interchangeable: into + -ing can foreground being driven into an action or reaction, while the to-infinitive can state the resulting action more directly.
English Usage
Punish Someone For Doing vs. Punish Someone To Do
Oxford records “punish somebody for something” and “punish somebody for doing something,” directly supporting for + -ing when naming the offense or conduct that caused the punishment.
English Usage
Push Someone Into Doing vs. Push Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents both push + object + into + -ing and push + object + to-infinitive in the sense of forcefully persuading or directing someone to act. Push has many physical and figurative senses; this guide is limited to the persuasion or pressure sense, not ordinary movement or other phrasal-verb uses.
English Usage
Put Off Doing vs. Put Off To Do
Cambridge documents put off + -ing for delaying an event or activity and also uses -ing after put someone off in the discourage sense. Put off has several phrasal-verb senses, but the particle off does not license a direct to-infinitive alternative for the postpone meaning.
English Usage
Quarreled vs. Quarrelled
The verb “quarrel” follows a regional doubling pattern: “quarrelled” is standard UK spelling, while “quarreled” is the usual US spelling. This guide treats the pair as a documented spelling or inflection convention rather than inventing a meaning difference where none is supported.
English Usage
Quit vs. Quitted
Modern English normally uses “quit” unchanged for the past tense and past participle. “Quitted” remains a documented form, particularly in British and older/formal usage, so it is not an error but is usually a marked choice.
English Usage
Railroad Someone Into Doing vs. Railroad Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents the usually passive pattern “be railroaded into doing something” for forcing someone to act before they have had enough time to decide. The cited entry supports the into + -ing pattern, especially in the passive; it does not establish railroad + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Raise vs. Rise
“Raise” and “rise” both describe upward movement or increase, but their grammar differs. “Raise” is normally transitive and takes an object; “rise” is intransitive and describes the subject moving or increasing on its own.
English Usage
Ran vs. Run
“Ran” and “run” are different forms of the irregular verb “run.” “Ran” is the simple past, while “run” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Recommend Doing vs. Recommend To Do
“Recommend + -ing” is a standard way to advise an action, and a that-clause is another. A bare direct “recommend to do” is not the same pattern, although Oxford also documents “recommend + object + to-infinitive,” so the distinction needs an object-pattern caveat.
English Usage
Reconcile Yourself To Doing vs. Reconcile Yourself To Do
Cambridge directly illustrates reconcile yourself to followed by an -ing clause when accepting an unwelcome situation. Here to is the preposition in reconcile yourself to something; the evidence does not license a parallel reconcile yourself to + bare infinitive pattern.
English Usage
Refrain From Doing vs. Refrain To Do
Cambridge records refrain from + -ing for deliberately not doing an action. Because from is a preposition in this pattern, the following verb is expressed as an -ing form rather than as a to-infinitive.
English Usage
Refuse Doing vs. Refuse To Do
When “refuse” means that someone will not perform an action, learner references use a to-infinitive. “Refuse” can also take noun objects in other uses, but that does not make a following gerund interchangeable with the infinitive pattern.
English Usage
Regret Doing vs. Regret To Do
“Regret + -ing” normally expresses sorrow about an action or situation. Formal “regret + to-infinitive” is commonly used to introduce bad or unwelcome news.
English Usage
Rely On Doing vs. Rely To Do
Cambridge documents rely on/upon with -ing clauses and also “rely on someone/something to do something.” A sentence such as “rely on the team to deliver” is valid and is structurally different from bare “rely to deliver.”
English Usage
Remember Doing vs. Remember To Do
With “remember + -ing,” the speaker recalls something that happened. With “remember + to-infinitive,” the speaker remembers an action that needs to be carried out.
English Usage
Remember vs. Remind
“Remember” describes retaining or bringing something back to mind. “Remind” describes causing a person to remember, so it commonly includes the person who receives the reminder as an object.
English Usage
Remind Someone To Do vs. Remind Doing
For prompting a person not to forget an action, standard English uses remind + person + to-infinitive. Bare “remind doing” is not the corresponding construction.
English Usage
Require Doing vs. Require To Do
Oxford documents require + -ing, require + object + to-infinitive, and passive be required + to-infinitive. The grammar changes with who or what is being required, so a bare require-to-do contrast is misleading.
English Usage
Resign Yourself To Doing vs. Resign Yourself To Do
Oxford documents resign yourself to doing something for accepting an unpleasant situation that cannot be changed. The to in resign yourself to is prepositional in this pattern, so an -ing form can follow it; do not infer a matching resign yourself to + bare infinitive pattern.
English Usage
Resist Doing vs. Resist To Do
Oxford documents resist + -ing for an action someone tries not to do. Use “resist doing” for that direct complement; a direct “resist to do” construction is not the reviewed alternative pattern.
English Usage
Resort To Doing vs. Resort To Do
Oxford documents resort to doing something when someone turns to a course of action, often because other choices have failed. Here to is the preposition in resort to, not an infinitive marker; a different to-infinitive pattern is not licensed merely by analogy.
English Usage
Restrain Someone From Doing vs. Restrain Someone To Do
When restrain means hold back or prevent an action, the established pattern is restrain + person + from + -ing. “Restrain someone to do” is not the corresponding complement pattern.
English Usage
Restrict Yourself To Doing vs. Restrict Yourself To Do
Oxford directly documents restrict yourself to doing something for limiting yourself to a particular activity. This is a prepositional-to construction. Do not replace the gerund with a to-infinitive merely because both forms contain to.
English Usage
Reward Someone For Doing vs. Reward Someone To Do
Cambridge records reward someone for something when the following conduct or achievement is the reason a reward is given.
English Usage
Risk Doing vs. Risk To Do
As a verb, risk takes an -ing complement for an action that may lead to a bad result. Cambridge gives examples such as “risked losing,” so the reviewed direct pattern is “risk doing,” not “risk to do.”
English Usage
Rode vs. Ridden
“Rode” and “ridden” are different forms of the irregular verb “ride.” “Rode” is the simple past, while “ridden” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Rope Someone Into Doing vs. Rope Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents rope someone into something, including an action example with “into playing,” for persuading or tricking someone into participation. The cited entry does not establish rope + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative, so this guide keeps the construction boundary explicit.
English Usage
Rose vs. Risen
“Rose” and “risen” are different forms of the irregular verb “rise.” “Rose” is the simple past, while “risen” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Rung vs. Rang
For the verb “ring,” “rang” is the simple past form and “rung” is the past participle. Cambridge gives the paradigm “ring — rang — rung,” so auxiliary constructions such as “has rung” use the participle rather than “rang.”
English Usage
Rush Someone Into Doing vs. Rush Someone To Do
Cambridge directly defines rush + object + into + -ing as forcefully persuading someone without giving enough time to decide. That phrasal construction is narrower than ordinary transitive uses of rush; the cited entry does not establish rush + object + to-infinitive as the same complement pattern.
English Usage
Sang vs. Sung
“Sang” is the simple past form of “sing”; “sung” is the past participle. That means “she sang yesterday” but “she has sung before” and “the song was sung live.” Auxiliary “have/has/had” and passive “be” constructions call for the participle “sung.”
English Usage
Sank vs. Sunk
“Sank” is the usual simple past of “sink,” while “sunk” is the past participle. Cambridge also records “sunk” as an alternative simple-past form in US English, so the page distinguishes the core tense pattern from that regional variation.
English Usage
Save Someone From Doing vs. Save Someone Doing
Oxford records save + person + from + -ing in both protection and avoidance uses, and also records save + person + -ing in the sense of sparing someone trouble or an unpleasant task. The shorter pattern is especially associated with British usage in the cited entry.
English Usage
Saw vs. Seen
“Saw” and “seen” are different forms of the irregular verb “see.” “Saw” is the simple past, while “seen” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Scam Someone Into Doing vs. Scam Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “scam somebody into doing something” for cheating somebody so that they take an action. The cited entry supports scam + object + into + -ing; it does not establish scam + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement.
English Usage
Scare Someone Into Doing vs. Scare Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents scare + object + into + -ing for causing or persuading someone to act by frightening them. Scare has other constructions for producing fear, including scare + object and phrasal uses such as scare away/off; those meanings should not be collapsed into the complement comparison.
English Usage
Scold Someone For Doing vs. Scold Someone To Do
Cambridge defines scold as speaking angrily because of disapproved behavior and gives the pattern scold someone for the behavior or action.
English Usage
Seduce Someone Into Doing vs. Seduce Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents seduce someone into doing something for figurative persuasion or attraction that induces an action. This guide concerns the figurative persuade/attract sense, not the separate sexual sense of “seduce.” The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish seduce + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
See Someone Do vs. See Someone Doing
After see + object, both the bare infinitive and the -ing form are standard. The bare infinitive usually presents the perceived event as a whole or completed, while -ing usually presents it as in progress, incomplete, or repeated.
English Usage
Seek Doing vs. Seek To Do
Cambridge documents seek + to-infinitive for trying to act and seek + noun for searching for or attempting to obtain something. Bare “seek doing” is not the direct alternative to the documented to-infinitive construction.
English Usage
Seem Doing vs. Seem To Do
Cambridge treats seem as a linking verb and as a verb followed by a to-infinitive; the progressive can occur within “to be doing.” Do not mistake the -ing form inside “seem to be doing” for a direct gerund complement after seem.
English Usage
Send Someone Doing vs. Send Someone To Do
Send + object + -ing describes causing sudden movement or reaction, while send + person + to-infinitive dispatches the person to perform an action. Both are standard but semantically different.
English Usage
Sentence Someone To Do vs. Sentence Someone To Something
Oxford directly documents both sentence somebody to do something and sentence somebody to something for officially imposing a court punishment. Both patterns are directly licensed, but they are structurally different; this evidence does not establish sentence somebody to doing as an interchangeable gerund pattern.
English Usage
Set Someone Doing vs. Set Someone To Do
Both set + object + -ing and set + object + to-infinitive can occur, but they express different relationships: causing an activity/state to begin versus assigning someone a task.
English Usage
Shame Someone Into Doing vs. Shame Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents shame + object + into/out of + -ing for causing a person to act or refrain from acting by making them feel ashamed. The same dictionary entry also documents shame someone out of doing something for preventing an action, so the preposition changes the direction of the pressure.
English Usage
Shanghai Someone Into Doing vs. Shanghai Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents shanghai somebody into doing something in an old-fashioned informal sense of tricking or forcing someone into an unwanted action. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing and marks the usage old-fashioned/informal; it does not establish shanghai + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern.
English Usage
Shaved vs. Shaven
“Shaved” and “shaven” overlap in participial/adjectival contexts, but their grammatical distribution differs. Standard verb inflection uses “shaved” for the past tense and past participle; “shaven” is especially established as an adjective.
English Usage
Shined vs. Shone
Cambridge documents shone and shined, with shone common for emitting/reflected light and shined especially natural for making something bright by polishing or directing a light. The guide keeps tense, participle, regional, and sense boundaries explicit rather than reducing the pair to a blanket substitution rule.
English Usage
Shock Someone Into Doing vs. Shock Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents “shock someone into doing something” for a shocking experience causing someone to act. The cited construction directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish shock + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent causative complement pattern.
English Usage
Shook vs. Shaken
“Shook” and “shaken” are different forms of the irregular verb “shake.” “Shook” is the simple past, while “shaken” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Should vs. Ought To
Should and ought to are close in meaning for advice, desirability and expectation. Ought to is generally more formal and less common, especially in questions and negatives, while should is the more usual choice in everyday English.
English Usage
Shoveling vs. Shovelling
“Shoveling” and “shovelling” are regional inflection variants. Cambridge distinguishes US “shoveling” from mainly UK “shovelling.”
English Usage
Showed vs. Shown
“Showed” and “shown” are different forms of the irregular verb “show.” “Showed” is the simple past, while “shown” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Shrank vs. Shrunk
Cambridge lists shrink, shrank, shrunk: shrank is the simple past and shrunk the past participle. The guide keeps tense, participle, regional, and sense boundaries explicit rather than reducing the pair to a blanket substitution rule.
English Usage
Signaled vs. Signalled
Cambridge marks the verb with -ll- in UK usage and usually -l- in US usage, yielding forms such as signalled/signalling and signaled/signaling. This guide treats the pair as a documented spelling or inflection convention rather than inventing a meaning difference where none is supported.
English Usage
Since vs. For
Since and for can both locate a situation in time, but they answer different questions. Since introduces the starting point from which a situation continues; for introduces a duration or period of time.
English Usage
Slayed vs. Slew
“Slew” and “slayed” are not simply interchangeable spellings. Cambridge documents the irregular “slew” in the traditional kill sense and also illustrates the modern informal praise/performance use with “slayed,” so the intended sense controls the choice.
English Usage
Slew vs. Slain
For the traditional irregular verb “slay” in its “kill” sense, “slew” is the simple past and “slain” is the past participle. This guide does not extend that historical paradigm mechanically to every newer informal use of “slay.”
English Usage
Smell Something Burn vs. Smell Something Burning
For the perception sense, learner-dictionary evidence directly supports smell + object + -ing, as in smelling something burning. Bare smell + object + infinitive is not the ordinary parallel pattern in this evidence set.
English Usage
Smelled vs. Smelt
For the verb “smell,” “smelled” and “smelt” are established past forms with regional preference; “smelt” is also a separate word for metal processing and a type of fish.
English Usage
Smolder vs. Smoulder
“Smolder” and “smoulder” are regional spellings of the same verb. Cambridge identifies “smolder” as the US spelling and “smoulder” as the UK spelling, so the choice is regional rather than semantic.
English Usage
Smote vs. Smitten
For the literary verb “smite,” “smote” is the simple past and “smitten” is the past participle. The guide treats the forms as marked literary vocabulary rather than everyday default wording.
English Usage
Sneaked vs. Snuck
“Sneaked” is standard generally, while Cambridge marks “snuck” as a US alternative past form of “sneak”; both occur in accepted modern usage.
English Usage
Sowed vs. Sown
“Sowed” is the simple past of “sow.” For the past participle, Cambridge records both “sown” and “sowed,” so “sown” is participial only while “sowed” can serve either past role.
English Usage
Speeded vs. Sped
Both “sped” and “speeded” are documented past-tense and past-participle forms of “speed.” The choice can depend on construction and style rather than a universal correctness rule.
English Usage
Spelled vs. Spelt
Both “spelled” and “spelt” are standard past forms of “spell”; Cambridge marks “spelt” as a UK alternative while “spelled” is used in both UK and US English.
English Usage
Spend Time Doing vs. Spend Time To Do
Cambridge directly documents spend time doing something for using a period of time on an activity. The cited time-use pattern licenses the -ing complement; do not infer spend time to + infinitive as a parallel complement pattern. A separate purpose infinitive can occur in other sentence structures.
English Usage
Spilled vs. Spilt
“Spilled” is standard in both major varieties, while Cambridge marks “spilt” as a UK alternative for the past tense and past participle of “spill”.
English Usage
Spit vs. Spat
“Spat” is the broadly documented past tense and past participle of “spit,” but Cambridge also records unchanged “spit” as a US alternative. The choice therefore has a genuine regional component.
English Usage
Spoiled vs. Spoilt
“Spoilt” is documented mainly in UK English as another spelling of “spoiled.” Both can therefore be standard, with regional and style preference determining the form.
English Usage
Spoke vs. Spoken
“Spoke” and “spoken” are different forms of the irregular verb “speak.” “Spoke” is the simple past, while “spoken” is the past participle used in perfect constructions and, where applicable, passive constructions.
English Usage
Spot Someone Doing vs. Spot Someone Do
Spot takes an object followed by -ing when you notice a person or thing engaged in an activity. Bare spot + object + infinitive is not the ordinary parallel construction documented by the learner dictionary.
English Usage
Sprang vs. Sprung
“Sprang” and “sprung” are forms of the irregular verb “spring.” Oxford lists “sprang” as the standard past simple, “sprung” as the past participle, and also records “sprung” as a North American past-simple variant.
English Usage
Spun vs. Span
“Spin” has variable past-tense evidence but a stable past participle: “spun” works as past tense and past participle, while “span” is recorded as a UK past-tense variant. This makes tense and region both relevant.
English Usage
Stampede Someone Into Doing vs. Stampede Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents transitive stampede someone/something into doing something for forcing an action and separately documents intransitive stampede to do something when people act in large numbers. The intransitive “investors stampeded to sell” pattern does not license a transitive object + to-infinitive pattern such as “stampede someone to do.”
English Usage
Stank vs. Stunk
“Stank” is the usual simple past of “stink”; “stunk” is the past participle and is also recorded as a simple-past variant in US and Australian English. The guide preserves documented regional or alternate forms rather than treating the pair as an absolute binary.
English Usage
Start Doing vs. Start To Do
Oxford documents “start” with both -ing and to-infinitive complements. The forms are generally alternatives for beginning an action, not a dependable pair with separate meanings.
English Usage
Start Someone Doing vs. Start Someone To Do
In the causative object pattern, start + person + -ing can mean cause that person to begin an activity. Object + to-infinitive is not the ordinary parallel causative construction.
English Usage
Starve Someone Into Doing vs. Starve Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents starve + person + into + -ing for coercing an action by deprivation. The cited entry does not license person + to-infinitive as the parallel complement, and ordinary senses of starve remain separate.
English Usage
Steamroll Someone Into Doing vs. Steamroll Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents steamroller/steamroll someone into doing something for informal pressure or force that overcomes resistance. The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish steamroll + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Stole vs. Stolen
“Stole” and “stolen” are different forms of the irregular verb “steal.” “Stole” is the simple past, while “stolen” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Stop Doing vs. Stop To Do
With “stop + -ing,” the -ing activity ends. With “stop + to-infinitive,” another activity is paused so the infinitive action can be done.
English Usage
Stop Someone From Doing vs. Stop Someone To Do
For the prevention meaning, standard English uses stop + person + (from) + -ing. A following to-infinitive can instead express purpose after stopping someone, so “stop someone to do” is not the corresponding prevention complement.
English Usage
Strive Doing vs. Strive To Do
Cambridge documents strive + to-infinitive for trying very hard to do something and strive for + noun for pursuing a goal. A bare “strive doing” construction should not be presented as an equivalent alternative.
English Usage
Strived vs. Strove
“Strove” and “strived” are both documented past-tense forms of “strive.” Cambridge also records “striven” and “strived” as past participles, so the choice depends partly on tense and the verb pattern you are using.
English Usage
Strong-arm Someone Into Doing vs. Strong-arm Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents strong-arm somebody into doing something for using threats or forceful pressure to make a person act. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish strong-arm + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
English Usage
Strove vs. Striven
“Strove” is a simple-past form of “strive”; “striven” is a past participle. “Strived” is also an accepted alternative for both forms. The guide preserves documented regional or alternate forms rather than treating the pair as an absolute binary.
English Usage
Struck vs. Stricken
“Struck” is the normal simple-past and past-participle form of “strike.” “Stricken” survives in a narrower participial/adjectival sense for someone or something severely affected by harm, illness, disaster, or a similar condition.
English Usage
Succeed In Doing vs. Succeed To Do
Cambridge states that succeed is usually followed by the preposition in and that a following verb normally appears in the -ing form. Do not drop “in” or replace it with infinitival “to” when you mean manage to accomplish an action.
English Usage
Sucker Someone Into Doing vs. Sucker Someone To Do
Cambridge documents US informal sucker + object + into + -ing for persuading someone to act by deceiving them. The entry explicitly marks the construction informal and US; it does not establish sucker + object + to-infinitive as a parallel standard pattern.
English Usage
Suggest Doing vs. Suggest To Do
Cambridge’s verb-pattern guidance uses “suggest + -ing” rather than direct “suggest + to-infinitive.” A clause such as “suggest (that) we go” is another standard option.
English Usage
Suspect Someone Of Doing vs. Suspect Someone To Do
Cambridge records “suspect someone of something/doing something” when the person is believed to have committed a crime or done something wrong.
English Usage
Swam vs. Swum
“Swam” and “swum” are different forms of the irregular verb “swim.” “Swam” is the simple past, while “swum” is the past participle used in perfect constructions and, where applicable, passive constructions.
English Usage
Swear Doing vs. Swear To Do
Oxford separates the intransitive offensive-language sense from the promise pattern “swear to do.” The page keeps those senses distinct instead of treating “swear doing” as an alternate complement.
English Usage
Sweet-talk Someone Into Doing vs. Sweet-talk Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “sweet-talk somebody into something/into doing something” for persuading through praise and pleasing talk. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish a matching “sweet-talk someone to do” complement.
English Usage
Swore vs. Sworn
Use “swore” for the simple past of “swear” and “sworn” as the past participle, especially after have/has/had. The guide distinguishes the finite past form from the participle in standard verb constructions.
English Usage
Take To Doing vs. Take To Do
Oxford documents take to doing something for beginning to do something as a habit or regular practice. This sense of take to uses prepositional to; do not confuse it with unrelated take + to-infinitive structures.
English Usage
Talk Someone Into Doing vs. Talk Someone To Do
Cambridge treats talk someone into something/doing something as a phrasal verb meaning persuade someone to act. A bare talk + person + to-infinitive sequence is not the matching causative pattern.
English Usage
Talk Someone Out Of Doing vs. Talk Someone Not To Do
Cambridge directly documents talk + object + out of + -ing for persuading someone not to do something. Talk also has the contrasting construction talk someone into + -ing; the out of pattern reverses the direction of persuasion rather than supplying a simple negative to-infinitive complement.
English Usage
Teach Someone To Do vs. Teach Doing
Teach + person + to-infinitive describes training someone to perform an action. Teach can also take a subject or skill as its direct object; when an -ing form names that subject/activity, it functions as what is taught rather than as the same person-action complement.
English Usage
Tell Someone To Do vs. Tell Doing
Tell + person + to-infinitive is a standard instruction pattern. Tell also supports information, clause, speech, and other complements, but bare tell + -ing is not the corresponding way to order a person to perform an action.
English Usage
Tempt Someone To Do vs. Tempt Someone Into Doing
Cambridge documents both tempt + person + to-infinitive and tempt + person + into + -ing for causing someone to want or agree to an action. The two constructions can be close in meaning, but their grammar differs: one uses object + to-infinitive and the other uses into + gerund.
English Usage
Tend Doing vs. Tend To Do
Cambridge marks tend + to-infinitive for things that usually happen or people who are likely to behave in a particular way. Keep the separate transitive sense of tend, meaning to care for or attend to something, distinct from the tendency construction.
English Usage
Terrify Someone Into Doing vs. Terrify Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “terrify somebody into (doing) something” for fear causing an action. The cited construction directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish terrify + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Terrorize Someone Into Doing vs. Terrorize Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “terrorize somebody into doing something” for frightening and threatening people until they act as directed. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish terrorize + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Thank Someone For Doing vs. Thank Someone To Do
Cambridge gives “thank someone for something” and the example “He thanked me for taking him home,” directly supporting for + -ing after thank.
English Usage
There Is No Point In Doing vs. There Is No Point To Do
Cambridge directly documents no point (in doing something) for saying that an action has no useful purpose. The cited purpose expression does not establish there is no point to + infinitive as a parallel complement. Other uses of point can take different structures, so keep this guide scoped to the no-point expression.
English Usage
Think About Doing vs. Think To Do
Cambridge explicitly gives think of/about + -ing for plans or possible actions and rejects “think to do” in that construction. Think has other meanings and clause patterns, such as “I think that …”; this rule is specifically about considering a possible action.
English Usage
Threaten Doing vs. Threaten To Do
Cambridge documents threaten + to-infinitive, while threaten also has object-based constructions such as threatening a person or thing. An -ing form may occur in a larger phrase, but it should not be presented as freely interchangeable with the to-infinitive after threaten.
English Usage
Threw vs. Thrown
“Threw” and “thrown” are different forms of the irregular verb “throw.” “Threw” is the simple past, while “thrown” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Took vs. Taken
“Took” and “taken” are different forms of the irregular verb “take.” “Took” is the simple past, while “taken” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Tore vs. Torn
“Tore” and “torn” are different forms of the irregular verb “tear.” “Tore” is the simple past, while “torn” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Torture Someone Into Doing vs. Torture Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “torture somebody into doing something” for forcing an action through physical or mental harm. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish “torture someone to do” as an equivalent complement pattern.
English Usage
Toweling vs. Towelling
Cambridge marks the verb “towel” with -ll- in UK usage and usually -l- in US usage; “towelling” also has a UK noun use for towel fabric. This guide treats the pair as a documented spelling or inflection convention rather than inventing a meaning difference where none is supported.
English Usage
Trap Someone Into Doing vs. Trap Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “trap somebody into something/into doing something” for tricking someone into an action. The cited entry directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish trap + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent complement for this sense.
English Usage
Trick Someone Into Doing vs. Trick Someone To Do
Cambridge explicitly documents trick + object + into + -ing for deceiving someone so that they perform an action. Trick has other transitive meanings and phrasal patterns, so the guidance here applies specifically when naming the action the deceived person is caused to perform.
English Usage
Trod vs. Trodden
“Trod” is a standard simple-past form of “tread,” while “trodden” is the usual past participle; Cambridge also records regional alternatives including participial “trod.” The guide preserves documented regional or alternate forms rather than treating the pair as an absolute binary.
English Usage
Try Doing vs. Try To Do
“Try to do” presents an attempt to accomplish something. “Try doing” commonly presents an action as a possible method or experiment to see whether it helps.
English Usage
Undertake Doing vs. Undertake To Do
Cambridge documents undertake + to-infinitive in the formal commitment sense and also uses undertake transitively with a task or responsibility. Do not treat bare “undertake doing” as the default equivalent of “undertake to do”; choose the documented infinitive or noun construction for the intended meaning.
English Usage
Urge Someone Into Doing vs. Urge Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents urge + object + to-infinitive and also gives an into + -ing example in which pressure leads someone into an action. The constructions differ in framing: the to-infinitive directly names what a person is urged to do, while into + -ing presents movement or pressure into the resulting action; this guide does not treat them as mechanically interchangeable.
English Usage
Urge Someone To Do vs. Urge Doing
Urge + person + to-infinitive is the ordinary pattern for strongly encouraging a named person. Direct action complements such as urge + -ing are possible in more compressed or formal uses, but they do not supply the same explicit person role.
English Usage
Used To vs. Be Used To
“Used to + verb” describes a past habit or state that is no longer true. “Be used to + noun/-ing” means be accustomed to something.
English Usage
Used To vs. Would
Used to and would can both describe repeated past actions, but they are not interchangeable in every past-habit sentence. Used to can describe past states that are no longer true; habitual would normally describes repeated actions or events, not states.
English Usage
Volunteer Doing vs. Volunteer To Do
Cambridge documents volunteer + to-infinitive for offering to do something and volunteer for + noun for offering oneself for a role or task. Bare “volunteer doing” is not the parallel standard complement for the offer-to-act construction.
English Usage
Waked vs. Woke
Cambridge lists both woke and waked as past-tense forms, with woken or waked as participles. The guide keeps tense, participle, regional, and sense boundaries explicit rather than reducing the pair to a blanket substitution rule.
English Usage
Want Doing vs. Want To Do
Oxford documents ordinary want + to-infinitive for desire and an informal “want doing” construction meaning that something needs an action. The page treats the difference as both construction and meaning, not free alternation.
English Usage
Warn Someone Against Doing vs. Warn Someone To Do
Cambridge documents both warn + person + against/off + -ing and warn + object + to-infinitive. Against + -ing warns the person away from an action, while the to-infinitive states an action the warning tells or prompts the person to take, often in a negative form.
English Usage
Waste Time Doing vs. Waste Time To Do
Cambridge grammar directly lists waste (time) + -ing and illustrates waste time doing an activity. The documented time-use pattern licenses the -ing complement; a separate to-infinitive can occur elsewhere for purpose, but it is not the parallel complement in this construction.
English Usage
Watch Someone Do vs. Watch Someone Doing
After watch + object, both the bare infinitive and the -ing form are standard. The bare infinitive usually presents the perceived event as a whole or completed, while -ing usually presents it as in progress, incomplete, or repeated.
English Usage
Weaved vs. Wove
“Wove” and “weaved” are not always interchangeable in the same way. For weaving cloth, “wove” is the traditional past form and US English also documents “weaved”; for the movement sense, “weaved” is the normal past form.
English Usage
Went vs. Gone
“Went” and “gone” are different forms of the irregular verb “go.” “Went” is the simple past, while “gone” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Wet vs. Wetted
The verb “wet” has two documented past forms: “wet” and “wetted.” Cambridge records both in American English, while its learner examples also use “wetted,” so the choice is a usage/style variant rather than a simple error test.
English Usage
Wheedle Someone Into Doing vs. Wheedle Someone To Do
Cambridge directly illustrates wheedle + object + into + -ing for persuading by praise or deliberate charm. The cited dictionary does not establish wheedle + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative, so this guide does not infer symmetry between the two forms.
English Usage
Will vs. Going To
Both “will” and “be going to” can refer to the future, but the choice often reflects meaning and viewpoint. “Going to” commonly marks prior plans or predictions based on present evidence; “will” commonly covers predictions, immediate decisions, offers, promises, and other modal uses.
English Usage
Wish Doing vs. Wish To Do
Oxford documents wish-clause patterns and formal/polite wish + to-infinitive. A bare gerund after “wish” is not a like-for-like alternative, so the guide separates infinitive use from clause use.
English Usage
Withdrew vs. Withdrawn
Use “withdrew” for the simple past of “withdraw” and “withdrawn” as the past participle, especially after have/has/had. The guide distinguishes the finite past form from the participle in standard verb constructions.
English Usage
Witness Someone Do vs. Witness Someone Doing
Witness can occur with an object followed by a bare infinitive or an -ing form in event-perception contexts. Use the contrast to express whole-event versus ongoing-event viewpoint rather than treating the forms as interchangeable in every sentence.
English Usage
Woke vs. Woken
“Woke” and “woken” are common forms of the irregular verb “wake”: “woke” is simple past and “woken” is a past participle. Cambridge also records “waked” as an accepted alternative in both roles.
English Usage
Wore vs. Worn
“Wore” and “worn” are different forms of the irregular verb “wear.” “Wore” is the simple past, while “worn” is the past participle used in perfect constructions.
English Usage
Worry About Doing vs. Worry To Do
Cambridge grammar identifies about as the most usual preposition after worry, and an action used as a prepositional complement takes an -ing form. Worry also occurs with noun phrases and that-clauses. This guide does not treat every later to-infinitive in a sentence as a complement of worry.
English Usage
Worshiped vs. Worshipped
For the past tense and past participle of “worship,” Cambridge documents the doubled-p form and also permits the single-p form in US English. The difference is inflectional spelling, not meaning.
English Usage
Wove vs. Woven
Use “wove” for the simple past of “weave” and “woven” as the past participle, especially after have/has/had. The guide distinguishes the finite past form from the participle in standard verb constructions.
English Usage
Wrote vs. Written
“Wrote” and “written” are different forms of the irregular verb “write.” “Wrote” is the past simple, while “written” is the past participle used in perfect and passive constructions and can also function as an adjective.