Come Close To Doing vs. Come Close To Do
Oxford directly documents come close to doing something for almost doing or reaching something. The to in come close to is prepositional before the activity; do not infer a parallel come close to + bare infinitive construction.
Use come close to + -ing for the documented near-occurrence construction.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| almost perform an action | come close to + -ing | Use the documented near-occurrence construction. |
| noun or other complement naming what is nearly reached | come close to + complement | Keep “to” as part of the documented prepositional construction. |
Quick tests
Complement test
Does the complement name an action that almost happened?
If yes: Use “come close to” followed by the -ing form.
If no: Do not infer a parallel bare infinitive pattern from the spelling of “to.”
Examples
We came close to missing the train.
The -ing form names the action that nearly happened.
The team came close to reaching its target.
“To” belongs to the “come close to” construction before the activity.
Treat “to” here as part of the documented construction, not automatically as an infinitive marker.
That prevents the unsupported “come close to do” parallel.
Further guidance
Boundary
The to in come close to is prepositional before the activity; do not infer a parallel come close to + bare infinitive construction.
Construction
Oxford directly documents come close to doing something for almost doing or reaching something.
Decision
Use come close to + -ing for the documented near-occurrence construction.
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.
- close — come close to doing something (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Preferred lexical authority directly documenting come close to doing something.