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.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “ask someone to do something” when requesting that person’s action. Do not use “ask doing something” as a direct substitute.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern
TermsAsk Someone To Do, Ask Doing
Further guidance
Boundary
“Ask to do something” without a person object can be standard when the subject requests permission or an opportunity to do the action; that is different from bare “ask doing.”
Construction
Ask supports a person object followed by a to-infinitive for requested actions; it also has separate ask for, ask about, question, permission, and clause patterns.
Decision
Use object + to-infinitive for a requested action by a named person. Choose ask for/about or another documented pattern when the meaning is different.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
