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.
Use “agree to do” when someone consents to perform an action; use “agree with doing” when approving an action or idea. Bare “agree doing” is not the same pattern.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Intended meaning | Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| consent or undertake to perform an action | agree + to-infinitive | agree to revise |
| approve of an action/practice | agree with + -ing | agree with revising |
| share a position on a topic | agree on/with + noun | a different complement pattern |
Quick tests
Consent test
Is the subject undertaking or consenting to perform the action?
If yes: Use “agree + to-infinitive.”
If no: If the meaning is approval of an action, use a prepositional construction such as “agree with + -ing.”
Caveat: “Agree to do” and “agree with doing” differ in both grammar and meaning; bare “agree doing” is not a parallel alternative.
Examples
They agreed to revise the schedule.
The team consented to perform the action.
I agree with revising the schedule before launch.
This expresses approval of the proposed action.
They agreed revising the schedule.
Better: They agreed to revise the schedule.
Bare “agree + -ing” does not express the reviewed consent pattern.
Further guidance
Decision
Do not collapse agree to do and agree with doing into a simple gerund-versus-infinitive swap because the construction and meaning differ.
Preposition Boundary
Use agree with + -ing when the point is approval of an action or practice; the -ing form belongs to the prepositional construction.
To Infinitive
Use agree + to-infinitive for consenting or undertaking to perform an action.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- agree — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Agree with to-infinitive and agree-with patterns
- Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Verb-complement patterns, including verbs taking -ing, to-infinitive, or both with meaning differences