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.
Both forms can be grammatical, but they express different patterns: “care about doing” concerns interest or importance, while formal “care to do” can mean want or be willing to do something.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| consider an activity important; be concerned or interested | care about + -ing | use for interest/importance |
| want or be willing to perform an action, often formal | care to + infinitive | use for willingness/desire |
Quick tests
Meaning test
Do you mean concern or interest in the activity itself?
If yes: Use “care about doing.”
If no: If you mean want or be willing to do something, “care to do” may fit.
Caveat: The two constructions can both be grammatical because they express different senses of “care.”
Examples
She cares about reducing waste.
The phrase expresses concern about an activity.
Would you care to join us?
The formal construction asks about willingness.
He does not care to discuss the matter.
“Care to” can mean want or be willing to.
Further guidance
Boundary
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.
Construction
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.
Decision
Both forms can be grammatical, but they express different patterns: “care about doing” concerns interest or importance, while formal “care to do” can mean want or be willing to do something.
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.
- care — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Dictionary evidence for care about in the importance/interest sense and formal care + to-infinitive in the want sense
- 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