Oxford explicitly lists commence doing something and commence to do something. The verb is formal, and the source does not establish a general meaning contrast between the two complements, so the guide presents both as documented alternatives.
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Both “commence doing” and “commence to do” are documented by Oxford. Commence is formal, and the two patterns both express beginning an activity.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb complement pattern
TermsCommence Doing, Commence To Do
Further guidance
Boundary
Do not invent a meaning difference when the reviewed dictionary presents both patterns under the same core sense “begin.”
Construction
Oxford lists both commence + -ing and commence + to-infinitive patterns.
Decision
Either construction can be grammatical; choose the form that fits the sentence and house style, while remembering that commence itself is formal.
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.
