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.
Use “bar someone from doing something” when someone is officially prevented from taking an action. Do not use “bar someone to do” as the equivalent complement.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning | Pattern | Use |
|---|---|---|
| officially prevent a person from an action | bar + person + from + -ing | documented action complement |
| exclude someone from a place/role | bar + person + from + noun | prepositional complement |
| to-infinitive action complement | bar + person + to do | not the documented equivalent |
Quick tests
Prevention test
Are you saying someone is officially prevented or disallowed from taking the action?
If yes: Use “bar + person + from + -ing.”
If no: For a different object/place meaning, use the construction that directly expresses that relation.
Caveat: Do not infer a person + to-infinitive complement merely because English has other verbs that allow it.
Examples
The order barred the company from selling the product.
“From + -ing” expresses the prohibited action.
She was barred from entering the room.
The passive form uses the same complement pattern.
The order barred the company to sell the product.
Better: The order barred the company from selling the product.
The documented action complement is “from + -ing.”
Further guidance
Boundary
Bar can take other complements—such as barring access or barring someone from a place—so not every occurrence needs an -ing clause.
Construction
The action-prevention pattern is bar + person + from + -ing, as in being barred from discussing or entering.
Decision
Use “bar someone from doing something” when someone is officially prevented from taking an action. Do not use “bar someone to do” as the equivalent complement.
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.
- bar — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Bar + person + from + doing pattern and other bar complements