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.
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “claim to do/be/have” or “claim that …” when reporting what someone says is true. Bare “claim doing” is not the ordinary parallel complement for that reporting sense.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb complement pattern
TermsClaim Doing, Claim To Do
Further guidance
Clause Boundary
Use claim that + clause when the asserted content is naturally expressed as a full proposition.
Decision
For the reporting sense, use claim to do/be/have or claim that; do not force a bare gerund as a parallel complement.
To Infinitive
Use claim + to-infinitive to report that someone says they perform, are, or have 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.
Cambridge documents both admit + -ing and admit to + -ing for acknowledging something. Other passive patterns such as “be admitted to be” are separate constructions.
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.
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.”
“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.
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.”
“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.
